Tails, Knuckles and Sonic
by Madhog thy Master
Summary: The time has finally come... For the three vessels of Intelligence, Strentgh and Speed, to fight for everything they believe and stand for! Together, they can do it... Hopefully. Last episode of "Tails" Saga!
1. Chapter 1

"We shall overcome…"

**Dr Martin Luther King Jr.**

"… Yes, we can."

**Barak Obama.**

"Can we?"

**A. Madhog.**

* * *

**TAILS, KNUCKLES AND SONIC**

* * *

**1.**

**_He__ still could remember it quite well… The dark forest… The robotizied cobalt blue hedgehog who just fled from him… And that creature._**

_**It came out of nowhere through Chaos Control… It stared at him with those empty… Black eyes…**_

_**He resembled Cosmo in everyway… He was clearly male…**_

**_Void… He said his name was Void… And that he was the son of__ Cosmo, of all things!!_**

**_And then, he just attacked the astonished two-tailed Kitsune for no apparent reason__… Despite the surprise, Tails still had the presence of mind and natural instincts to react…_**

**"_Why are you attacking me!?" Asked the kit while avoiding several punches and kicks from his unjustified assaulter._**

**_The creature__ stopped for a second… He seemed to be uncomfortable as well by this situation… He really didn't want to do it._**

_**He didn't want to hurt the most important person in his mother's young life… He had her memories of him planted (excuse the pun) in his mind… Every ounce of his body was protesting and hesitating…**_

_**But… As Void understood… He didn't really have a choice, either. In order to fulfill the first part of the Ancient Prophecy, he had to make an example out of the fox… No matter how wrong it felt, there wasn't any room for personal feelings in his mission!**_

**"_I'm sorry…" He started to mutter. "… But it is necessary! Forgive me… Tails."_**

**"_How do you know my name!?" Asked the panicked fox. "Just, who are you!?"_**

_**He didn't respond this time… He simply raised his hands high above his head… His body started to glow and his eyes, from black and soulless became bright white… Then he put his strange clawed hands on the ground…**_

_**A short earthquake shook the land under Tails's feet.**_

_**And for the first time, since Cosmo's sacrifice, the kit could see the True Powers of a Seedrian in action… On his own skin… And bones…**_

_**Humongous plant like branches came out from the ground like rotten zombies in a Horror **_

_**B-movie… Tails was taken by surprise… He didn't stand a chance.**_

_**He's been beaten… Battered… And severely wounded… But not killed.**_

_**That wasn't the plan! The Kitsune's death would have meant failure.**_

_**Calmly, the void eyed one approached his apparently younger victim, who was now on the ground… In a small pool of his own blood.**_

**"_Don't worry, you will survive this night… It is written! This has been a friendly advice… Stay away from the Chaos Emeralds or else, next time I won't be so gentle…" He threatened him right before disappearing into the familiar green miasma of teleportation._**

_**The kit had heard him… The Chaos Emeralds? Was he looking for them? What the heck was going on?**_

_**He needed answers… But first of all… He needed to be cured.**_

_**From the point he was in, his adopted mother's hut was the closer place… He slowly raised his mauled little body from the heartless ground and started walking toward the hut's direction…**_

_**Traces of fresh blood were left on his every step… **_

_**That definetelly wasn't his day!**_

* * *

Tails woke up from his nap, still shaking.

He took a moment to clear his head from the dumbness of sleep, then he looked his surroundings… He immediately recognized the beautiful flowery field, the ruins… And the unique plants he knew as "Kitsune's Mates"…

The ancient ruin zone… His and Cosmo's secret place… Was wonderful as ever. So pure and perfect, so peaceful and comforting… So sad.

In a way, this small, secluded piece of paradise, hidden by the thick secular trees… Could have almost be seen as a metaphoric vision of Cosmo's own soul.

There they were, the young flowers… Symbols of her happiness and childish joy.

The rare plants she was born from… They were her determination and will to survive… Her strongest emotions, like Love…

The old ruins, which were anti-climatic with the whole natural ambient, represented her darkest thoughts, her fears and insecurities but also her memories… Her worst memories.

And then, there was him, set on the grassy ground, shoulders on a tree… Tails, the love of her life, the main object of her thoughts.

He sighed. That was very romantic to imagine but completely pointless, none the less.

"It's really beautiful here, don't you think? It's almost like a metaphoric representation of her mind…"

Tails seemed un-fazed by that remark, although it was exactly what he was thinking about this place. He slowly and calmly turned his head to fix his gaze on his not so unexpected guest.

Green bushy hair, black cloaked vest, weird 3-fingered hands and, of course, his namesake eyes.

"Hi, Void…" The young vulpine greeted. "… Or should I call you… Son?" He added chuckling.

Void put on a bewildered look.

"… Tails, I'm actually older than you… That sounded weird." He replied.

The "younger one" openly laughed this time.

"True… True."

A few seconds of silence followed… During this lapse of time, the two of them intently observed each other like if it was the first time they ever met… In a way, it was.

Void was trying to understand why his mother seemed to love this kid so much… Why did she find him so… lovable?

Tails's attention, on the other hand, was focused on a more material detail… Void's shoes.

He hadn't noticed it the first time but the plant like boy was wearing the very same kind of shoes he used to have… A pair of red and white sneakers! The fox smirked within himself… They definetelly had similarities.

"So… You knew I would come here?" Suddenly asked the Seedrian, interrupting the awkward staring session.

Tails nodded.

"You were born here, after all… Right where I planted that seed… Over there." He said while pointing to the direction of the now three "Kitsune's Mate" plants.

Void crossed his arms… It didn't really surprise him that his un-official "daddy" has been able to figure out where he came from… The memories the Seedrian had, used to depict the fox as a genius.

Tails was still set with his back on the tree's log… He put his arms behind his head in the classical relaxed manner.

"I think I've understood the real reason of why you attacked me a little more than a week ago… You wanted me to start looking for the emeralds… Not the opposite!" He said, displaying a hint of self-confidence in his tone.

Void was still un-fazed.

"Convincing someone to do something by telling him to do the exact opposite thing of you wanted him to do… Reversed Psychology is an old trick... You just added a violent beating in it." Tails continued. "By the way, how's Blaze doing? Did she voluntarily joined you or you just brainwashed her?"

At this point, Void chuckled in amusement.

"Congratulations… You are truly clever, I must admit. To answer your question… Blaze voluntarily chose to follow me." He said with a proud broad smile on his light grey skin.

"… I see. That means that we'll probably have to fight her too." Sadness and discomfort was visible in the boy's azure eyes.

"Her… And Shadow!" Void ultimately added.

For the first time since the beginning of their conversation / challenge, Tails found himself taken aback…

"SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG IS ON YOUR SIDE!!!?" He yelled while abruptly standing up from the soil.

Void smirked in satisfaction, he seemed to be the winner of their "I'll impress you the most" verbal confrontation.

"Yes… And we already have 2 more emeralds, beside the one I already own, thanks to his efforts!" His smiling face was the picture of Victory. " Oh! And there's a certain pink someone who has a thing for him... In case you didn't know!"

Tails missed the last sentence... He was trying to sink the previous informations inside his head… Suddenly, it all made sense.

He still remembered, a little less than two months ago… After his fight against the shadowy hedgehog…

He said something about the fact that he had made a choice… Something daring and revolutionary that would have changed the world… Was he talking about this?

The kit sighed… Naugus had Shadow on his side, that would have been a very, big problem… To put it euphemistically.

Tails resumed his glance on his interlocutor.

"Tell me, Void… What did Naugus offer to convince Shadow to join him? And what did he promise to you, anyway?" He asked, dead seriousness in his features.

Now it was Void's turn to be taken aback.

"How… How do you know about my father?" His previous smile was now substituted with a panicked face.

"FATHER!!!? THAT'S HOW YOU CALL THE ONE WHO'S KEEPING YOUR MOTHER IMPRISONED!!!?" The kit yelled in rage.

That sentence hit the Seedrian like a train… His facial features were now utterly contorted by the sudden shock his brain just received.

Tails saw this and immediately calmed himself… He took a deep breath and spoke again.

"Yes, Void… Cosmo is alive… We all thought she died when she used Chaos Control on that nuke and teleported the both of them away from this world… Instead, she ended up in the same place Naugus has been confined for so long… The Sanctuary."

"But… That's impossible… She couldn't have possibly come in that dimension… Naugus couldn't have bring her there unless she would have wanted to… YOU'RE LYING!!!" Void's shocked expression was now replaced by a furious one.

Tails crossed his arms and closed his eyes.

"No… It's true. She came to visit me in my dreams… She told me everything she knew about Naugus's scheme… And you." He reopened his eyes and once again, fixed his gaze over the Seedrian boy. "She would have loved to meet you… Her only son." He concluded solemnly, desperately trying to hold back a few sorrowful tears.

Void, on the other hand, wasn't even breathing… He stood still like a statue… Frozen on spot.

Then he started shaking and trembling like a leaf in the wind… That was a good pun!

Finally, he snapped… He pointed his right arm toward the vulpine and put the left one right on the red gem on his chest.

"CHAOS SPEAR!!!" He cried out load.

Tails easily avoided the shot that hit the tree instead… Then he darted toward his opponent at lightening speed thanks to his propelled namesakes… And knocked the wind out of the panicked plant being's stomach with a punch.

Void was taken by surprise… He didn't stand a chance.

He collapsed on the ground, holding his painful belly.

The victorious kit looked down at him… There wasn't satisfaction in his face, not even pride or a mischievous grin… Only utter soreness.

He felt bad for Void… For what he had to go through… False ideals, false securities, false prophecies… And the fact that he's been forced to relive all of her mother's memories, doubts and sufferance.

Looking down at his un-wished adversary… Tails didn't feel pity, sympathy yes, but not pity! As a matter of fact, Void reminded the Kitsune a lot of himself… And not just because of the aforementioned cool shoes… The Seedrian was clearly a selected one, just like Tails, and for that he suffered. He's been put inside something that was bigger than him… And he's been forced to skip his childhood in order to fulfill his so-called life mission…

They were so similar.

Suddenly, the kit felt the urge to hug him… But he decided against it… It would have been anti-climatic.

"Go ask your 'father', if you don't believe me… And then, try to read his soul… I know you can do it… You tried to do it with me for the whole time." He casually added.

Void slowly raised his head to look at the two-tailed vulpine above him… Desperation on his gaze.

"So long… Son." With that said, Tails spun his famous appendages and rose in air, flying away from there.

The black eyed boy was left alone… Or so he thought.

From the top of a secular tree, another figure appeared… A familiar lilac feline.

Blaze the Cat immediately darted in Void's aid.

"Stay… Away… From me… Blaze!" If he could he would have yelled it.

She stopped right where she were, a few steps from him, her face was showing a great deal of concern.

"Void…" She muttered.

"How long… Have you been listening?" He asked after resuming his standing position.

She lowered her head in shame.

"I'm sorry… I was just worried about you."

"I'M NOT A BABY, FOR CHAOS'S SAKE!!! I'M THE BLASTED IBLIS TRIGGER!!!" He managed to scream through the pain of his stomach.

She sighed quite loudly… He and Tails were so similar… Although, now that she thought about it, she noticed the kit's sudden change of behavior… He seemed more mature and determined than ever.

Very little was left of the kid she grew accustomed with… But it was still there… Somewhere inside his heart… She just sensed it.

"Blaze? Hello, Earth to Blaze?" The juvenile voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Uh?"

"What were you thinking?"

"Nothing important… Tell me, you think what Tails said was true? Do you believe… She's still alive and all?" She asked him, not hiding her apprehensions and hopes.

"I don't know… But I'm about to find out!" He declared, showing great determination in doing so.

Blaze giggled within herself.

_**Yep… They're definetelly similar…** _She thought. _**I can see why Tails called him his son… He was the one who planted the seed, after all.**_

* * *

**Somewhere in the forest.**

"Am I cool or what?" Said a very cocky cobalt hedgehog right after breaking another sound barrier.

"Mmmh… I've seen better… By me!"

Sonic the Hedgehog turned his head to look at the stranger… He was a hedgehog, just like him, only black and red striped instead of blue.

The two of them stared at each other for a while in silence… Silence that was suddenly broke by the usual obnoxious voice of the fake skinned rodent.

"COOL! I've found ma long lost twin! Mondo fantastico!!!"

Shadow just sighed.


	2. Chapter 2

**2.**

He wasn't pleased… He wasn't pleased at all.

He was fuming, to tell the truth… Upset and over all pissed off… And that was normal for him.

What was definetelly NOT normal was the totally messed up place he's ended up because of that blasted emerald.

Some kind of an immense, huge and apparently floating, piece of land… With giant mushrooms and deserts nearby frozen wastelands… Among other things.

A crazy zone that defied anything nearly logical and rational.

For some reason, he couldn't utilize Chaos Control again… Therefore he would have been forced to remain on that bewildering unknown place for Chaos knows how long.

"That's fan-fuckin-tastic!" He sarcastically muttered with his average pissed off-able tone.

Knuckles has been wandering around the place for a while now, inevitably losing the count of the hours… For some diabolical reason, the wrist com. he always wore could not function so he wouldn't be able to contact his companions.

A very inconvenient obstacle, don't you think?

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!"

Sorry, Knuckles…

Right now, the red echidna was sitting on one of those big funguses, hardly trying to calm himself down… Very hardly.

He started reflecting about the last things that happened to him… Especially the unforgettable reunion with her loving sister…

Perhaps, "loving" wasn't quite the rightful word to say…

"Definitely!"

And Knuckles started to speak alone… Madness was evident in his features.

"EHI! QUIT IT!"

Only if you'll stop breaking the Forth Wall… I already have my hands fold with Naugus trying to take my place as the original Author! I don't need an angry-as-Hell echidna screwing things around, too!

"Fine…"

As I was saying…

He was still thinking about her sister… Could he still call her in that way after what transpired between the two of them? After what they shared? After what he was forced to share?

It was ironic, though. He could heal any kind of physical wounds on other people… But not to himself… And not from immobilizing poisons, anyway.

Pretty darn inconvenient!

"Gee… I wonder why?"

KNUCKLES!!!

"Ok, ok, I'm sorry!"

He loved his sister! Both mentally and physically!

"… That was low."

"My, my… Aren't we a little distressed?"

"What!? Who the fuck is there!?" Said a surprised Knuckles.

"… Indeed." Replied the voice.

When the red echidna turned his head to see "who the fuck was there", as he put it, His already deformed gaze frowned even more…

"Hello, there… It's been a while, isn't it?" Was the casual reply of the all too familiar ghost of the once psychotic, toothy mercenary by the name of Fang…

Fang the Sniper!

After taking a good look over the phantomlike form of the former contract killer… Knuckles made a very important conclusion…

"Oh my Chaos… THE EMERALD KILLED ME AND I ENDED UP IN HELL BECAUSE I SLEPT WITH MY SISTER!!!" He cried out loud like a maniac.

Fang just sighed.

* * *

Tails just sighed.

It's what he's been doing since his return to the base.

"… And when he was gonna come back?" He asked, clearly annoyed.

"Uhm… When he felt like… That's what he said." Replied a happy-go-lucky Amy Rose.

_**Damn that Sonic! We have the blasted Chaos Emeralds to find and what he does? HE GOES FOR A FREAKING RUN!!! These hedgehogs… Speaking of which!**_

Something clicked inside the kit's mind… Something that Void told him about Shadow… And a certain pink someone he used to see…

He also noticed how Amy's behavior, from saddened and depressed, has suddenly turned into freakily happy and noisy.

Math was not an opinion, so he did 2 plus 2.

"Amy?" He asked, showing a more than serious expression on his face.

"Yeeeeeeeeees?" She abnormally sweetly asked back.

"Did you happen, by any chance, to see Shadow, lately… Around or inside the forest?"

And now, THE certain pink someone found herself frozen on the spot. Words weren't needed… It was all clearly written in her face…

"AMY!!!" He yelled, obviously scandalized.

"I LOVE HIM TAILS!!! THE BOTH OF THEM!!!" She yelled in response.

Now the kit was confused.

"Excuse me?"

In the next 45 minutes, Amy Rose tried to explain her impatient interlocutor the whole background story of Shadow… And his twin brother, Mephiles…

After the tale, Tails was left severely shocked and frightened… He just heard, from the squeaky voice of a girl in love, the whole terrible story behind Shadow's genesis… He now knew about Maria Robotnik and the Ark… The original purpose of Station Square… And the most gruesome detail of all: Amy was in love with both the personalities of the schizophrenic hedgehog!

"That's… Deeply disturbing… You know that?" He tried to collect the last comprehensible words he had left into a phrase.

"I don't care! Love is above everything, Tails! You, of all people, should understand that… Since you were in love with a PLANT!!!" She angrily responded… Only to realize that she said to much.

The vulpine's face turned from shocked to angry in just a short few seconds. His closed fists where shaking… He was trying to contain himself from doing a thing he would surely regret later.

"I-I'm sorry, Tails… I-I d-didn't mean…" She was practically begging him to forgive her.

Tails released his breath and relaxed… She was right about Love and all… And by looking into her eyes, he could see that she was deadly serious about it.

He smiled.

"Very well, Amy, it's your life and your decision… I have no rights to interfere." He reassuringly said.

That seemed to have the desired effect on the hedgehog lady, who started to smile her trademark sweet smile… Right before an evil smirk appeared.

"Say… Wanna know what me and Shadow have been doing lately?" She asked.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!!! I CAN'T HEAR YOU!!! LALALALALALALALALALALALA!!!"

Tails covered his ears and darted out of the base while making a lot of noise in the process.

She chuckled at him.

_**Still a child… Deep down.** _She thought.

* * *

Boredom was the key word.

There wasn't really anything to do in that place… Just getting bored and waiting for Death…

Death… Over the past few weeks, it has been a constantly idea in his already damaged brain… The idea of simply ending all of his sorrows and physical pain… Not to mention the humiliation he has been forced to endure…

Since the day he was discovered… Or better, since the day he let himself to be discovered for the sake of his ideal… His life became even worse of what it used to be. Of course, he knew what to expect from them… He was mentally prepared to resist torture…

What he, however, was not ready for… Was the unexpected failure of the Project. It's inexplicable and utterly failure wasn't supposed to happen… It was an impossible eventuality… Logically speaking.

Then again, Logic wasn't everything in this world… This chaotic, senseless world, he was forced to live in… The world he hated so much… The world he wanted to change… Drastically and permanently!

That was his great ideal… To create a whole new Order from the ashes of the old Disorder. A global society in which Logic and Rationality would have been the keywords… The end of uncertainty, confusion, hypocrisy… And Chaos.

Instead… The plan failed… The perfect and definitive scheme couldn't "clean" this world from it's impurities…

All because of a little girl.

A little girl…

A KID!!!

During these past weeks, he had all the time he wanted to reflect about certain things… About his enemies, among other things.

He realized something that truly bothered him… The fact that the enemies he's been fighting against over the last 10 years… Were mainly children!

The founder of the infamous Freedom Fighters Militia was herself a child… All the members of the Militia were orphans of this war… A war that he had contributed to spread all over Mobius… Their parents' blood was on his hands…

It was a knowledge that couldn't let him sleep at night… He hadn't slept one single night in the past few years… Since the day he found out the true purpose of those ominous buildings… Buildings placed in the outskirts of Robotropolis and from which was almost impossible to escape from… Prisons that his leader built especially for Mobians… Slaughter houses of painful torture for his sadistic amusement…

The so-called… "Egg-Prisons". The places in which it's unlucky prisoners would have met their demise inside a functional Roboticizer machine… And became mindless slaves for the Eggman Empire.

He witnessed it… He personally witnessed the true strength behind the Empire's success… Along with the screams, the begs for mercy, the blood and… Worst of all… The silence that came after…

It was unbearable… Both to hear it and to see it… Until he couldn't get it anymore.

He still remembered that episode quite well… Because he paid a very big price for it.

He was supposed to supervision the robotization process… Of a little, young rabbit girl.

She had a broken ear and she was clearly traumatized… She almost continually asked about her mommy and daddy… They were probably already dead and / or robotizied.

The kid occasionally stared at him with her pleading, tearful eyes… While that monster of a machine was about to change her soft, innocent, furry body into cold, lifeless metal… She cried out loud when her right arm and two legs started to turn… Slowly and painfully.

That's when he had enough and broke the machine with the girl still in…

He couldn't quite remember all the details of that day… Everything was so confusing… But, as far as he could think back, he and the young unconscious rabbit managed to escape from that hellhole aboard of a STEALTH Bot… One of the flying mechanical saucers of the Empire.

He also remembered how she used to cuddle in his arms when she had nightmares… He would have usually caressed and consoled her, telling her that everything would have been alright… Then he looked at her robotizied appendages and utter guilt engulfed his soul… He knew he was lying to her… Her life was ruined, she would have been marked for the rest of her existence…

Luckily enough, he ended up captured by a group of homeless rebels guided by a green duck and a polar bear…

They excepted to take care of her for him… She was saved.

He, however, couldn't be saved… It was already too late for him… He was doomed since the very day of his birth.

He returned to Robotropolis to face the consequences of his actions…

He's been beaten.

He's been tortured.

He's been humiliated.

But not killed… His leader needed him… For the newly born Mobian Council…

Over the past few years… The sleepless years… His only goal became the fulfillment of his ideal… Nothing else mattered anymore… The dead… The robots… Nothing.

He became totally consumed by his grief and his own body followed the decay of the soul… He lost his hair and his physic became extremely slim and weak, ultimately, his skin turned into a dull, lifeless grey color… He was the specter of himself.

When even his great ideal miserably failed, he hadn't anything left to live for… And they demanded informations about his leader.

He's been beaten.

He's been tortured.

He's been humiliated.

But not killed… They needed him alive.

The pale ghost of a living being became a whole with the Nothingness inside of him… He didn't even feel the pain when they had inflicted it to him… It didn't matter anything anymore.

He told them his leader's real name because it was the only thing he knew about him…

And now, he was completely useless. His ideal was a folly… The war for ultimate order he fought, created even more chaos… Thousands, maybe even millions of people died because of him… Because of his hated uncle… Because of all this madness!

Once again… History repeated itself…

What was the greatest plague this world has ever had?

Humanity.

Humans had ruined this world so many times that he could not even count… They should have disappeared when that tremendous earthquake destroyed their civilization all those millenniums ago…

His species craves for power and domination… And always ended up fucking everything!

Especially, his own family, of which he was the latest member and, hopefully, the last.

It was time for other species to rule this planet… It was time for these courageous and strong willed anthropomorphic animals… No… Mobians, to claim the rightful ownership of this world, with their cultures and traditions, scientific and philosophical discoveries… Inevitable wars and mistakes…

This… Was their land! Mobius, was it's name.

The subterranean jail he's been secluded was creepily silent… It was perfect for his last goodbye… An anonymous and undisturbed goodbye, just like his entire life has been.

He took the belt from his pants, tied it one extremity to the ceiling fan (he was in a classy cell) and formed a knot with the other… He had a chair in his jail… That would have worked.

He was standing on the chair, the knot was around his little, fragile neck…

He thought at the irony… He would die with a knot, under a place known as Knothole…

He chuckled at the very brilliant pun…

Then he let himself to fall from the chair.

In the last minutes of his agonizing life… His mind wandered to the only one person he's been important for… The only one person he's been useful for…

The little, half-robotizied rabbit girl he saved all those years ago.

A single tear descended from his eye while her name, the name she told him during their escape, was quietly muttered from his already deformed mouth…

"Bunny Rabbot… An ironical name, indeed."

And the small Overlander once known as Snively Robotnik died in his cell without nobody noticing…

A silent departure… For a specter of a man.

How appropriate.

* * *

She woke up from her folding bed… She have had the same dream again.

The little human that saved her… She couldn't remember his face or even his name, for that matter.

She was sweating profusely in every ounce of her furry body… Except, of course, on her heavy, metallic appendages.

For Bunny Rabbot, Life has been particularly sadistic with her… She wasn't a Mobian and not even a Badnik… She was a Robian! Half-robot, half-Rabbot… How she hated that joke!

"That stupid Scourge an' his stupid jokes… I'll brek his bones one 'o' dis days!" The southern accented teenage rabbit muttered under her breath, before trying to sleep again.

Tomorrow morning, It was going to be an important day for her… As her mistress, Tikal, told her.

**"_What do ya need me ta do, Tikal-hun?" She joyfully asked to her leader… And friend._**

**"_Bunny… I have a very important mission for you… I want you to do it because you're the person that I trust the most…" The orange echidna girl said._**

**"_Anything for ya… Girly!"_**

**"_Go to Knothole and ask for Maximillian Acorn… There is a very important message I need you to give him…"_**

_**The Rabbot's face went serious as she nodded… She'd really do anything for her… They grew up together inside the homeless army… And when she was selected as their leader because of her mysterious abilities… Their relationship didn't change a bit.**_

_**She would have supported her anytime… Even after the terrible thing she did to her brother… Not only the forced incest… But all that deceiving plan as well… **_

* * *

Bunny dismissed the thought, those were personal business of Tikal and she had no rights to interfere nor to judge…

She had more important things to do… Like giving that message to good old Max-hun, as she loved to call him.

She was now asleep in her folding bed, inside her tent… And for the rest of the night, she dreamt about a blue charming prince that was in love with her… And, strangely enough, he had quills.


	3. Chapter 3

**3.**

Unnatural coldness… Utter silence… And the impeding sense of inadequacy…

This unique place had them all. A wonderful, majestic location in the middle of pure nothingness… A separated world.

Shiny stalactites hanged from the frozen ceiling of this mysterious chamber… All of it's walls and floor as well, were made of glaciated, soulless crystal.

A spectacle to behold… And to be scared of…

There was no trace of any source of light inside this mystic place… But, somehow, it was still illuminated.

Was that real? Was that an illusion?

What is reality? How do you distinguish it from falsity? Was there only one reality?

Or was it all relative?

One's reality could be someone else's façade…

For Void, one thing was certain… This was definitely his master's world.

The dimensional prison known as… Sanctuary.

In the beginning, this place was nothing more than a dark void (no pun intended), Ixis Naugus, however, managed to use his powers to create a kingdom at his own image… A cold, emotionless castle made of ice and crystal.

There he was, set on his frozen, secular throne in the middle of his universe, he… Urgh!

"Not so fast… Author. The time to reveal my appearance hasn't quite arrived yet…"

Argh… Damn you, Bogus!

"The name is Naugus, ignorant fool, do not forget that… And who the REAL Writer is… I'm the one who controls Fate itself!"

You're not a God, Ixis! You… Aren't… Flawless.

"Eheheheheheheheheheheheh… We'll see about that. For now, I will let you resume your writing… Until I say so."

You'll… Uhrrrn… Pay for this.

"Ahr ahr ahr ahr ahr ahr…"

"Father?"

"Aaaaaah… Void, my precious child… I know why you came here… I've seen everything that happened so far."

"So… You know what I'm about to ask you?"

"Yes… Your mother is alive."

If it could have been possible, the Seedrian's light grey skin would have turned into pure shocking white… His empty eyes were now larger than ever.

Naugus seemed amused… I think… Damn it, I can't see him!

"Here, my apprentice… Let me show you… Her body."

With a swift movement of a hand, a frozen pod appeared out of nowhere… Inside of it, lied the Sleeping Beauty herself…

Cosmo the Seedrian.

"Everything that the Vessel of Intelligence has told you… Was true… I'm the one who brought her into this dimension right after her pointless sacrifice."

For the first time in his young life, Void could see his own mother… The one person from which he inherited everything… All those powers, memories, doubts and fears.

Slowly but convincingly, Void approached the pod in which she peacefully rested. He put his clawed hand on the glass and sighed…

She was so beautiful, so perfect… She had peach like skin and nice leaf hair, two rosebuds on the side of her head… And those hands… She had normal 5-fingered hands.

She had nothing of him… She was pure like an angel… He was a demon. An ugly, deformed freak. He looked down at his gruesome claws he had for hands… He felt sick of himself.

How could a being like Cosmo, gave birth of a monster like him?

Another thing that disturbed him, was the fact that she looked younger than him…More or less, the same age of that vulpine that claimed to be his rightful father.

He was so confused. He looked back at his master and before he could even ask "how and why", the ancient sorcerer answered him.

"It was her decision, Void… To be saved from her fate… She realized, after her foolish gesture, that she wanted to live… That's why she accepted to come here when I asked her. Her destiny wasn't to die for those ungrateful lesser beings."

"But… Why did you put her inside of this pod? Why didn't you let her go? WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME!!!?" Anger and frustration, along with other more hidden feelings, were all present in the Seedrian's voice.

"She would have died, otherwise… When she used Chaos Control to that filthy weapon, she used all of her powers… Too much powers… The result of that abuse was the bending of time and space themselves and that caused her personal lifetime to be altered forever…"

"What do you mean?"

"I had to freeze her in order to avoid her irreversible, accelerated ageing process… There is a price for everything, Void… Especially when you play with the fabric of existence itself… Without the proper knowledge."

The dark dressed plant life form turned his head to the sleeping angel in the crystalline coffin…

"She would have died..." He muttered within himself. "… What about that nuclear missile?" He then asked.

"I left it to wander in the sheer nothingness between dimensions… It won't do any harm anymore."

Void sighed again… He was still unconvinced, Naugus could feel it.

"Void… Chosen Trigger for my liberation… I think it's finally time for me to reveal you the rest of the Ancient Prophecy!"

The grey black plant's attention was now reached. Naugus continued.

"You see… The 7 Chaos Emeralds alone are insufficient to ensure my escapade… They needs… The proper triggers… Hear me out, young one, for I am about to tell you the secret behind the three Vessels of Intelligence, Strength and Speed… And the legendary Island of angels."

* * *

"Angel Island… The legendary floating land."

"So… I'm not dead?"

"No…"

"And this is not Hell?"

"Neither…"

"Ok… THEN WHAT THE FUNGUS ARE YOU DOING HERE!!?"

Fang's ghost smiled in genuine amusement, showing his huge namesake to the freaked out echidna.

"I'm here, Knuckles… To be your 'Virgil'… Your guide through this forgotten and chaotic land… Your arrival here, was not a case." It said.

"What?"

"It was all part of a plan… A plan made by your beloved sister… A scheme in which I had a very important part in it, although I've improvised a lot… I hate predetermined schemes, as you probably know by now…" His smile grew even bigger.

"Will you be fucking more specific?" Knuckles was understandably impatient.

"I had never been hired by Eggman… I've been sent to the Mystic Ruins by Tikal with the precise order to bring you to her… But then I thought… What the Hell, it's too easy that way! So I did what I do best… I created a more interesting plot! A classic story of abduction and rescue… With it's heroes, it's villain and, of course, it's damsel in distress! I ended up mauled and killed, yeah… But it's been a lot of fun, too!" He told to the even more bewildered echidna.

"You… All you had to do… Was to bring me back to my sister… And you did all that 'killing people - writing messages in blood - Kidnapping girls' cluster fuck, istead!!!? THAT DOESN'T MAKE FREAKING SENSE!!!" Yelled the irate-able one.

"Does this chaotic world make sense to you? Does this place resemble anything near Logic and Rationality?" He said matter-of-factly.

Knuckles gave up… He was right, in some twisted way… Then again, everything seemed to be THAT damn twisted, around him.

The echidna showed the Sniper his purple emerald.

"What about this emerald, Fang?" He asked.

"It's been… manipulated… By your sister's magic. She knew you were a Chosen by Nature… You're the first of your kind that could use healing powers, after all… She just did some trick to that Chaos Emerald so it could bring you where you are now... When you would have used Chaos Control… Unfortunately, it's a one way ticket… At least until you'll find the reason of your coming to this island!"

"Wait a second… Tikal can manipulate chaos energy? Is she a…"

"A selected one, too? No, I'm afraid no… She just happened to learn some of his people's ancient magic… The rest was naturally implanted in her DNA."

"What do you mean?"

"Aaaaah… That's an interesting story, my echidna friend… It involves the genesis of the Chaos Emeralds…" Said the now illuminated Sniper.

Knuckles was hanging from it's mouth… Like a kid during bedtime stories.

Fang began…

* * *

_**As you know… Three individuals are considered the main responsible for the emerald's creation… Three sorcerers: an echidna, a hedgehog and a Kitsune… All of them were capable of manipulating chaos energy like no other… As a matter of fact, they were the first individuals capable to do that…**_

_**Natural Selection… Or maybe… Something else? Who knows…**_

_**The important thing was that they had those powers… And so their descendents…**_

_**Currently… Thanks to Nature's doing… All the Kitsunes, the hedgehogs and echidnas in Mobius possess the ability to manipulate a small reservoir of chaos energy… It's imprinted in their genetic codes… Therefore, they're physic is naturally capable to sustain the instability of Chaos without dyeing…**_

_**Of course, it's nothing compared of what a True Chosen One could do with a Chaos Emerald… Not to mention, all 7!**_

_**You and two of your friends… Along with other few people… Are the first element of a new evolutionary process for your respective species… Therefore, you are the only ones who could unlock the emerald's true power… To control Chaos, itself!**_

_**And Ixis Naugus… Knows it.**_

* * *

The red echidna listened intently… It all started with those three mages… But it was still so confusing…

"Just… Who is… This Axes Gallus guy?" Asked the curious echidna.

"Ixis Naugus… Is a sorcerer who, somehow, managed to defy the laws of Nature and gained more powers than anybody could ever hoped to gain… He became controller of the Chaos elements, meaning that he could bend the fabric of reality for his own amusement… He's immortal and he wishes to create a world without Chaos… A world of Order and absolute Control…" Fang was visibly disgusted while depicting that Naugus character. "… He is the Anti-Chaos!" The ghost finally yelled.

"What happened to him? How did they stop him? And what about this island!?" Again, the impatient echidna.

The specter smirked, namesake tooth clearly visible.

"That… You'll have to find out by yourself… By following me!" He ominously remarked.

Knuckles grunted…

"Why things can never be straight?" He lamented. "Wait a minute… How do YOU know about all these things!? And why YOU, of all people, are my ghostly guide!?"

"I don't know… It's just happened…" His casual answer.

And the two of them (the red "Dante" and the "Virgil" guide) started moving toward the desert land known as Sandopolis.

* * *

Tails was cursing under his breath… He forgot to tell Amy that Shadow… Or Mephiles, or whatever his name is… Was their enemy! He'll have to tell her, eventually.

Knowing the passionate pink hedgehog, this knowledge wouldn't have changed a damn thing. She loved him, that was sadly obvious… And, as the kit has learned, there's no Love without Sorrow.

She'll be forced to learn it, too… The vulpine was undeniably worried about her… Not only for her health but also because, with Blaze's defection, they couldn't sustain another loss in their group.

He dismissed the thought when he approached Sally's hut…

Since the merciless beating she took from that deranged silver hedgehog, Tails took the habit of visiting her everyday… That made her very happy.

As a matter of fact, that made the both of them very happy… For at least two hours at day, they could act like a normal family… They could have a normal "mother and son" relation.

They used to play table games and stuff… He even let her to give him the infamous "funny kiss" (which it was a kiss on his foxy nose) and they would have enjoined every single moment of it.

This day, however, things were going to be slightly different, for the mama's boy's displeasure. Sally wasn't in her hut…

There was a letter on her bed. Tails took it and read it.

_**Dear Tails,**_

_**I received a call from my father asking me to come back to Knothole… I didn't want to do it, I told him that I was retired… But it was an emergency and I had no choice.**_

_**Snively Robotnik is dead!**_

_**They found his body in his cell… He hanged himself with his own belt.**_

_**I need to be there… To represent the commission for "Civil Rights". It seems that Snively has been severely tortured and we need to find the responsible for this…**_

_**I swear I will return in time for your birthday, in 4 days… Like it or not, you are my baby and I'm your mother!**_

_**I love you.**_

_**Sally.**_

_**P.S. Sorry for this letter but I was in a rush… Important changes are about to happen, I can feel it.**_

Despite his immense delusion, Tails could understand the squirrel's motives.

"So… Snively is dead… I can't say I'm sorry for him but… I'm not sorry for him."

Nobody will be sorry for him… Or maybe not?

Suddenly, a horribly familiar floating noise found it's way in the fox's sensitive ears. He knew that sound, he knew it all too well… The same sound that he heard when his parent's house was burnt into ashes… The same device he'd seen right before killing his robotizied parents…

A floating radio with Eggman's symbol on it, entered the hut from it's chimney… And stopped right in front of the visibly disturbed Tails…

That meant troubles.

* * *

From the top branch of a tall tree, a certain feline warrior was trying to kill some time… Or burn, in her case… By playing with one of her fireballs.

She was clearly bored.

It has been a while since Void's "homecoming" and she was annoyed at him for the fact that "his almighty father and master" (as she defined him) would not permit anyone else to see his ugly face…

"It's daddy's order, I can't disobey…" She said, mocking Void's tone. "… What a ruffian!" She added with her own voice, now more annoyed than ever.

Her complains, however, did not match her inner feelings… She felt something for the Seedrian… An emotion that she found rather familiar…

An emotion that made her suffer in unimaginable ways.

She feared it, with all her might… She feared that that particular sensation could very well cause her to lose her control, again! Even though, she's been freed from the Flames' will by him… She couldn't help herself into believe that it was safe… To feel that emotion again…

To love…

And to be loved.

As if on cue, the object of her thoughts appeared nearby from the green light of Chaos Control.

"About time…" She greeted him while jumping down from the tree with her natural feline agility.

Blaze immediately noticed Void strangely happy expression… So uncharacteristically of him. His small body was shivering and his hands were shaking.

"Void? What's wrong?" She asked, now seriously concerned.

The plant boy locked his gaze on her and spoke.

"Blaze… We are going… To save… COSMO!!!" He cheerfully cried.

* * *

Tails rushed back at the base, almost hitting a bewildered Amy in the process… Panic was easily visible in his features.

Things hadn't gone really well, lately.

Knuckles had left for Chaos knows where and, for some reason, he couldn't be called via wrist com.

Espio left as well to look for the remaining Chaos Emeralds…

And Sonic? He definetelly didn't choose a good moment to disappear.

Only Tails and Amy remained at base… At the exact same moment in which Eggman decided to make his move!

"What's the rush, Tails?" Asked the now panicked as well, pink hedgehog.

The vulpine took a very hard breath before communicating the awful news.

"Sir Charles…" He started. "… Eggman found him!!!" He sadly concluded.

Things were only getting worse…

* * *

**Somewhere, in a secluded area.**

A certain red striped, black hedgehog was figuratively licking his wounds… He was in deep thoughts.

He was smiling too… A dark, mischievous smile.

"I have no doubts, now…" He muttered. "That was definitely him…"

**"_So… What do we do now?"_**

"We… Are going to kill him."

**"_You have a strange way to show your love… Then again, Amy could say something about it…"_**

"SHUT UP, BROTHER!!!"


	4. Chapter 4

**4.**

**"_Well, hello Miles, my long time rival… If you're hearing this tape then my little messenger has reached you. Now, listen to me, fox boy, I'll be exceptionally brief this time… I've captured that little spy of yours… Yes, Sir Charles is in my tight grasp! Did you really think I would have never discovered the leak in my Empire? HA! That's hilarious! I was surprised, though, to find out that it was my first robotizied specimen… None the less, the game is now over! If you want him in one piece, I suggest you to give me back MY Emerald! You can keep that traitorous Sonic if you want but I want MY jewel! Let us meet in the place were my Empire made it's first steps, The Green Hill Zone, at noon, if you won't be there with my rightful possession then 'uncle Chuck' will die! To show you that I'm not bluffing… Here's a very special video just for you… Farewell!"_**

_**In the exact same moment in which the floating radio ceased to play it's tape, another flying object came from nowhere. It was a floating camera, this time. **_

_**An film started to play… The battered and almost scrapped figure of a sadly familiar mustached, robotizied hedgehog, was it's protagonist…**_

**"_T-Tails… L-listen… It is all true… I…KRFSSSH… Have been casually discovered by some blasted cleaning bot… Stupid, don't you think? T-this is… KRRRRFSSSH… Very important… Whatever you do… Do NOT give that emerald to Eggman… I-it was thanks to that gem that he's been able to… KRRRFFFSH… Built… KRRRRSSST… The Roboticizer!!!"_**

_**Another figure came into view, replacing the malfunctioning robot. It was the ugly face of the doctor himself.**_

**"_What have you heard is the truth, Miles… I wouldn't have been capable in gaining enough power for my machine to work, without that little miracle gem that I casually found when I was a little evil genius… So, here's the question: will you return that emerald to me and dooming everyone's existence once again… Or will you let a friend to die? Choose wisely, fox…"_**

_**And with that said, the video went blank.**_

_**And a young, two-tailed fox, was now more bemused than ever.**_

* * *

Tails's mind was troubled.

His head was spinning like an airplane's propeller… His blue high-tech biplane's propeller, in this case.

The infamous Green Hill Zone, the first place to ever been attacked by Eggman's Badniks, the location from which both Charles and Sonic used to live, was situated on South Island…

The fastest way to reach the isle was Tails's X-Tornado… Sure, he could have used Chaos Control instead but he logically thought that having an advanced, full-armored, combat plane as a backup supporter, would have been a good idea… Plus, he still hadn't mastered that particular chaos technique.

Thanks to both the light blue emerald inside the motor, the plane could go very fast. A trip that would usually take 2-3 hours, would now be reduced in a brief journey of 10 minutes.

"TAILS?" Yelled the concerned voice of Amy Rose from the passenger's cockpit.

"WHAT IS IT!?" Yelled back Tails while piloting his prized invention… They were above the beautiful Emerald Ocean, right now.

"HAVE YOU GOT A PLAN!?"

The vulpine thought this for a moment before answering.

"NO!!!"

"Wonderful…" She muttered within herself.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY!? I COULDN'T HEAR YOU!!!?

"NEVER MIND!!!"

There was an old human motto that, more or less, went this way: "When you think that things couldn't possibly get worse… Cheer up! They could very well be worse… It could rain!"

As if on cue, it started raining… And the plane didn't have a ceiling.

"Drat! Double drat!" Complained the distressed Kitsune while Amy made an asthmatic, doggy like laugh in response…

And the Yankee-Doodle pigeon came by…

And the obnoxious "Stop the Pigeon" theme song started to play for no apparent reason…

And suddenly, Amy woke up.

"What the heck is wrong with me?" She asked herself after making another of those crazy random dreams of her.

"WE'RE ALMOST THERE, AMY!!!" Cried the foxy pilot… The island was now visible.

* * *

South Island was a green and colorful piece of heaven… Not anymore. All that was left of the once natural paradise was ashes, dead trees and burnt soil…

Green Hill Zone was no different… It was even worse, as a matter of fact.

In the middle of that destruction, the two Freedom Fighters were impatiently waiting the arrival of the man responsible for this.

Tails was nervous but he was trying very hard to hide it… The cursed azure emerald that previously stood in his plane's motor, was now in his right hand.

The kit was feeling sick… The tears and the blood of thousands of innocent Mobians were imprinted in this jewel… He knew Charles was right, this damned jewel could not come back into his previous possessor's hands, no matter what!

Amy watched his comrade with caring eyes… She could only imagine what was going through his mind.

A sudden noise distracted the both of them. They turned to the direction it came from but nothing could be seen.

Another noise, closer this time, came to their left but then again, nothing was in view.

A last one could be heard above them, this time. They look up… Nothing at first… A familiar silhouette then appeared.

It was their guest, aboard his trademark Egg Mobile, his one-person hover seat… And he seemed amused.

The vehicle slowly reached the ground, the egg shaped Overlander inside of it was smiling profusely.

"Do you like my invisible shield, kiddies? It comes in handy when I have to go in certain places without being spotted!" The maniacal Dr Eggman declared, his amusement was at stars level.

"So… That's how you've managed to come to our forest without being discovered!" Tails was alluding at the doctor's unexpected visit at Sonic's expenses, not even a month ago.

The scientist simply smirked… Then he went serious.

"Have you brought my emerald?" He asked with authority in his voice.

Tails, not fazed at all by his enemy's threatening tone, showed him the bloody gem in question.

"Where is Sir Charles?" He asked back, dead serious as well.

The mad doctor's giant brown mustaches were now devilishly deformed because of the huge grin that crossed his mouth…

"… Right Behind You!"

The kit had just the moment to turn his head over his back… Before feeling the metal… And the pain… And hearing Amy's screams as well…

He should have imagined that something was definitely wrong about the doctor's behavior… About the fact that he came alone to the appointment, without his usual minions…

The heavy robotic fist he just received in his face was the obvious consequence of his misjudging error.

The violence of the attack sent the kit right into one of the thousands dead trees of the island… The impact was painful almost as the punch. If it wasn't for his natural resilience he would have sustained severe damages.

He slowly raised from the ground, his mouth and nose were a bloody mess but that was nothing compared to the surprise in the fox's glare when it stared right at his opponent's.

Glowing red eyes, light blue metallic skin and white iron mustaches… The emotionless robotizied form of the former spy known as Sir Charles Hedgehog.

"UNCLE CHUCK!!!" Cried the frightened pink hedgehog.

"SIR CHARLES!!!" Cried the bewildered two-tailed and bruised Kitsune.

"The 'improved' Sir Charles, you mean!" Chuckled the evil scientist from his hovering seat.

Tails's angry gaze fixed itself on the maniacal human.

"What have you done to him!?"

The doctor adopted an innocent expression.

"Well… I said I was going to give him back to you in one piece… Therefore I had to repair him… And I also took the liberty to add some PERMANENT modifications! I hope you like it!" He said, grinning like possessed.

"No…"

"Yes, Miles… He's now a full operational Badnik, just the way he was supposed to be from the beginning… And it's all yours! Consider it, my birthday present to you!" He added with immense glee.

"No… Not again… NOT AGAIN!!!"

The now mindless robot once known as Charles Hedgehog, spoke in it's cold voice.

"Subject: Miles Prower! Priority one: Kill the two-tailed rat!"

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, FOX BOY!! BWA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!" Yelled the deranged Eggman.

Despite the creepy fact that the doctor knew about his birthday…Right now, Tails was having other problems.

In the kid's mind, it was all too familiar… The maniacal laughs… The uncontrollable fear… The blind rage… The robotizied fiends… And their black oiled blood on the fox's hands.

In that moment, Tails wasn't seeing a single, robotic enemy in front of him… But rather, two robots… Two Badniks that resembled a couple of Kitsunes…

His parents.

His victims.

A very familiar emotion crossed the vulpine's soul… The very same blind rage he felt on the tragic day in which he was forced to kill his own family.

Without missing a beat, he darted toward the hedgehog with murdering intentions. The robot, however, wasn't to be underestimated. It avoided Tails's attack with impressive speed… It was faster than the enraged kit himself!

Charles kicked the boy in the back, sending him on yet another tree. Tails felt it all too well. He was not in the conditions to fight this new menace… Not with his wounds… Not with his current state of mind.

And then, he heard it again… The laughter.

"HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!! It seems that you have finally met your match, eh?" The diabolical egg shaped villain teased.

Before the kit could even raised himself from the ground, a metal fist found it's way in the fox's stomach. He growled in pain while seeing his robotic adversary ready to blow him again… It didn't have the chance, however, since a certain heavy war hammer hit it right on the head, Amy Rose's beloved self-defense weapon.

The unforgiving hammer stroke sent the robot a few meters away. The pink hedgehog seemed satisfied of her handy work, she then turned to her wounded companion in utter preoccupation.

"Tails? Are you ok?"

"WATCH YOUR BACK, AMY!!!" Cried the panicked Kitsune.

"Wha…" She didn't even have the time to finish her sentence that a humongous iron ball hit her violently…

She flew away…

For several miles…

Until she splashed into the ocean…

And she didn't come out.

She was gone.

Amy, the cheerful, enthusiastic young girl, was gone.

Gone forever.

GONE!

Once again, Tails couldn't protect a person he loved. He couldn't save her… And now she was dead… She died for saving HIS life!

She died for him.

It was all his fault… NO!

It wasn't Tails's fault and he knew it… The shocked and almost tearful gaze he had since a moment ago, has been now substituted by one of pure determination and strength.

He fixed his angry eyes on Amy's murderer… The smirking Dr Eggman's Mobile wasn't just meant as a transportation device, it could turn into a lethal weapon as well. A giant steel chain with an ominous iron sphere attached, was hanging from the lower side of the vehicle. All in all, it looked like the idiotic parody of a demolition ball… But deadly as well.

"Oooooh, I killed your little rodent friend, how impolite of me… Eh eh eh eh eh." The fat pilot of the improvised death machine chuckled.

That made Tails even angrier.

A mechanical sound diverted his attention from the rotund genocidal… Charles was back, it had a small dent on the side of his head but it looked over all fine. It darted toward the hurt kid.

This time, however, the "wounded and seemingly harmless" boy was ready for him. The azure emerald he was still holding tightly in his hand started to glow… He could feel it's intoxicating power begging him to be used.

He didn't hesitate for a second, he raised his jewel and solemnly pronounced:

"CHAOS CONTROL!!!"

And, to both the attacking robot and the mad scientist's utter bewilderment, he was gone.

"WHERE THE HELL IS HE GONE!!!" Yelled the visibly distressed obese dictator.

"Right behind you… Eggbutt!"

The doctor had just the time to turn his head only to receive a painful kick right on his huge, pointed nose. The sudden attack sent the old fatty out his deadly machine and right to the ground with a loud thud.

The defying, flying form of the young vulpine warrior was above him… Glowing emerald in hand… Smirking mischievously.

"How… How did you do it!?" Asked the now frightened scientist while holding his bloody, broken nose.

Tails seemed genuinely surprised by the scientist's reaction… Was he really unaware about the emeralds' true power and the few who could achieve it? Was he really that ignorant?

Suddenly, the kit started laughing an uncharacteristically evil laugh.

"What's so funny? I DEMAND TO KNOW!!!" Yelled the enraged doctor… He definitely didn't like to be the teased one.

"It's just that… You managed to use this emerald to power up your precious Roboticizer… And you didn't even know of it's true possibilities?" Chuckled the amused kit. He then became serious. " Man… You're so pathetic! You're not a genius… You're just a lucky bastard… WHO KILLED MILLIONS OF PEOPLE!!!" And now, he was absolutely pissed off… Years of exposition on Knuckles's behavior have had their effects on the fox.

The fallen dictator's fear was only surpassed by his pride.

"How dare you!? I'M THE SMARTEST BEING IN THE UNIVERSE!!! I'M THE FUTURE OF THIS PLANET!!! I WILL FOUND MY PERFECT ORDER AND RULE OVER EVERYTHING!!!"

"No… You're going to die, NOW!" Threatened the very unrecognizable young kit while slowly approaching his would be victim.

"You… You're bluffing! You wouldn't kill a living, breathing being, would you?" Shyly asked the scared madman while trying to slip away from the enraged, murderous Kitsune.

Tails took a deep breath.

"I've already killed before… I'm willing to do it again." He coldly replied, his mind wandered for an instance to that silver hedgehog he took a life from.

"No, you won't! CHARLES!! ATTACK HIM!! KILL HIM!!" He yelled.

Nothing happened.

Tails just grinned.

"Perhaps… You should turn." He said.

Slowly, Eggman did so and what he saw, it didn't please him at all.

His prized Badnik, his first ever robotizied Mobian… Was no more. It lied on the ground…

Broken…

Irreparable…

Dead.

Upon it, was it's killer… Sir Charles's own nephew… Sonic the Hedgehog, also known as Metal Sonic.

His synthetically made facial features weren't showing any emotion, his once emerald green eyes were now, glowing red. He looked exactly like the machine he really was… The machine he became after "uncle Ivo" put him into the Roboticizer.

Tails remembered that expression all too well from the night he learned the hedgehog's awful secret… There it was again, the prove of his second nature… Or better, his un-nature.

Despite the distant glare, a hint of sadness could be seen in his face… He had to kill his own uncle, not just the only relative he had left but also the only one who could understand his condition. Sonic gave a good look at his own right arm… The skinless arm… The one that gave up his cover in the first place… Was still there, constantly reminding him of his true essence. He closed his robotizied clawed hand in a tight fist and fixed his cold glare over the fat scientist, sending shivers through his spine.

"ROBOTNIK!!!" Yelled Metal Sonic.

Hearing his real name had the effect of a kick in the groin to the doctor. He hated that name with all his might, he changed it into Eggman in order to avoid being accosted with his infamous family… An old, ancient family of doctors and scientists who miserably failed in everything they tried to accomplish! He wanted to be different and build his own legacy… And now, this ungrateful hunk of junk just dared to call him with his former surname!

"My name… IS EGGMAN!!!" Yelled back the irate Overlander, apparently unaware of what he was risking.

"No… You're real name is Ivo Julian Robotnik, direct descendent of Gerald, the ancient patriarch of the Robotnik family! Am I right?" Replied Metal with is cold robotic tone.

The name of Gerald Robotnik angered the egg shaped human even more… It was because of him that his family has been marked by infamy! His foolish dreams and researches brought disgrace over him and his descendents…

"What… Is your point?" He asked.

"Who am I?" The cobalt skinned hedgehog asked back.

That simple question left both Eggman and Tails a little taken aback.

Metal Sonic continued.

"Tell me… Am I really who you said I was? Is my name really Sonic Hedgehog? Am I the same little kid you took from his burnt home and robotizied later?" He pretended to take a breath, then concluded. "Or am I someone else? Perhaps… someone linked… to Project: Shadow?"

There was silence for a minute or so… The three of them didn't move a single muscle or anything else. They stood like statues, only fazed by the casual wind.

Until it started.

"Mmmh-mmm…"

The uncontrollable, hysterical laughter…

"Meh eh eh eh eh eh… EH EH EH EH EH EH EH EH…"

Of the deranged egg shaped scientist.

"MWA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!"

That was the confirmation that the robotic hedgehog needed to hear…

He was NOT Sonic the Hedgehog and Charles was NOT his relative.

* * *

**"_What uncool thing are ya saying, bud?_ _Of course I am Sonic, the mondo coolest and fastest hedgehog on two feet!" Proudly declared the cobalt blue rodent._**

**"_Oh really? I'm fast as you are and… As far as I could see… We have the same attacks and fighting techniques…" Said the black and red hedgehog known as Shadow._**

**"_Well… That's true but… Why did you attack me in the first place?"_**

**"_To prove a point… Or better, a theory."_**

**"_What theory?"_**

_**At this… The dark counterpart crossed his arms and lowered his head in great concentration… He then look his interlocutor dead in the eyes… Then his gaze fixed itself on the skinless mechanical arm he had…**_

_**Even though, he obviously sustained robotization, that didn't change the fact that this blue hedgehog was once a living, breathing being who had the privilege of having a natural birth… Shadow was also sure that his speed and abilities were absolutely natural and NOT an "upgrade".**_

_**There weren't any doubts left… This was the person he's been looking for since his creation… More than 50 years ago.**_

_**The crimson eyed hedgehog unfolded his arms and finally responded his very impatient cobalt counterpart**_

**"_You… Are my father… I was created from your DNA!"_**

* * *

The laughter finally ceased.

"So… You've figured it out, uh?" Ivo Robotnik managed to say through tears.

If he could, the metallic, skin covered hedgehog, would have cried a river.

Tails, on the other hand, was shivering by fear and reasonable shock.

"S-Sonic?" He tried.

"As I told you before…" Replied the unknown rodent to the frightened fox. "… My name is not Sonic… The being known as Sonic… Sir Charles's nephew… Died two years ago, when he tried to escape from Robotropolis… Am I right?" He asked. His gaze never left Robotnik's.

He devilishly smiled.

"I gave everything to that little ungrateful rodent… A home… New toys to play… And when I wanted to rightfully claim my reward and turn him into my greatest Badnik… He tried to escape! I had to kill that little twerp with my loyal blaster gun in order to stop his teenage foolishness… A darn pity, I have to say."

Tails was listening intently, utter disgust was present in his face. The metal one, however, looked un-fazed.

"And so, you had to renounce at the idea of having a super fast robotizied hedgehog in your grasp… Until you found my body in a stasis tube… In the subterranean basement of the Ark, no longer than 2 months ago…"

"Eh eh eh eh… My G.U.N. spies found you for me… Imagine how happy I was when I discovered that YOU were the specimen that my cousin, Maria Robotnik, used in order to create the Ultimate Life Form itself!"

Tails was even more mentally unbalanced than he was before… Too much shockers for one day!

The Eggman continued.

"You… Were the original super fast hedgehog! The naturally gifted speedster… The one from which the mighty Shadow the Hedgehog himself inherited his abilities! And to think that I was wasting my time with a second choice rodent… HA!"

"… And You roboticizied me and substituted my original memories with Sonic's… Why?"

"Because I was planning to utilize you as a spy to infiltrate into the F.F. and you needed a pitiful story in order to convince them into accepting you... Along with the aspect of a normal Mobian, of course... That's why I gave you those manipuleted memories and the artificial skin you're currently wearing! Unfortunately, things got wrong when you came near that blasted azure emerald… You went crazy and stole it… Then you escaped and ended up in the Mystic Ruins, still convinced to be Sonic… I managed to find you thanks to one of my random floating cameras… The rest is history." The doctor concluded.

A few moments of silence followed… It's been finally revealed, a huge secret 50 years in the making, the truth behind Shadow's genesis and Sonic's past was not a mystery any longer.

"One more thing…" Said the now illuminated hedgehog. "… My name… What's my real name?" He ultimately asked.

"It's nothing special… Maurice."

"Yeah… That's a stupid name alright. Thanks doctor… Now you can DIE!" Threatened Maurice the Hedgehog… Although his name was anything but dreadful.

Robotnik smiled.

"I beg to differ." He said while clicking a button placed on his head goggles.

A couple of laser beams were shot from his Egg Mobile (which managed to drop that silly sphere from before), both Tails and Maurice managed to avoid them but they gave the doctor the time to climb back into his seat and fly away in the sky…

"You haven't won yet, pests! If I can't roboticize your people, anymore… Then I'll just have to KILL YOU ALL!!!" He yelled while fleeing away toward his haven, Robotropolis.

Tails was scandalized and upset, to say the very least.

"We had him… We had him right were we wanted… AND WE LET HIM ESCAPE!!!" Complained the kit while punching the ground in frustration.

Then he realized one thing… Sonic, or better, Maurice was still there… Dangerously silent.

He turned his head to look at his hedgehog companion.

Maurice stood still, looking the ground without saying or doing anything.

Tails approached him and tried his best to consol him.

"S-Sonic… Maurice… I'm sorry." He sorely said.

The hedgehog in question looked at him… A puzzled expression was visible on his facial skin.

"Why would you be? I'VE NEVER BEEN MORE HAPPY IN MY ENTIRE LIFE!!!" He unexpectedly cried, taking the Kitsune by surprise.

"E-excuse me?"

"Don't you get it, Tails? Do you know how was I able to come to this island, in the first place?"

"Ehrrrr… You took a passage from a Yankee-Doodle pigeon?" He advanced.

"No! I came back to the base… I found a note you left that said where you were going to go… And I summoned Chaos Control with the blue emerald you gave me!"

Tails was taken aback… He remembered leaving that note for the hedgehog to find… And he also remembered giving the emerald he took from Silver, to Sonic… But he couldn't believe that Sonic (or Maurice), being made of metal, would have been able to utilize it's powers.

"Tails, little buddy…" He continued, his eyes slowly changed back to green and his normal voice was returning as well. "… I used to be the first of my kind who could break the sound barrier on his own feet… I was the result of Natural Selection, just like you and, probably, even Knuckles, are. Shadow and his brother, Mephiles, were born from my DNA and manipulated chaos energy, therefore they share my own abilities… Including the possibility of using the power of the emeralds. They are the perfect clones, plus they're also immortal and they never age... They're truly ultimate!" Said the seemingly proud "daddy".

Tails's ears were perked in interest.

"Even when I was robotizied and that Ro-Butt-Nik screwed up with my memories… The simple vicinity of that azure Chaos Emerald was sufficient to save my own free will. Then, when I used Chaos Control to come to this island, my real memories came back to me!" He was on the verge of tears, if he could have produced them, of course… "So, it doesn't matter if I'm currently made of metal or whatever material… The fact that I still have my original natural gifts and abilities, means that I am still myself! An all natural, super fast hedgehog! A Chosen by Nature! And that's a thing that neither Eggman nor most of the humans will ever understand!" He paused a second, then concluded. "In the end… Nature always prevails."

The young kit stood there for a moment, gazing his amazingly wise friend… Tears started descending from his big azure eyes. He darted toward the hedgehog and hugged him tightly… A brotherly hug.

Maurice seemed a little taken aback at first but then he returned the embrace.

"I-I wish I had at least half of your courage…" The tearful kid sobbed.

"You are more courageous than anyone I've ever known… Way past!" He consoled him.

After a short while, they released each other.

"There is only thing left to clear…" Tails muttered.

"What?"

"How am I supposed to call you?"

The cobalt blue hedgehog pondered it for while before assuming the inevitable super hero pose.

"Just call me Sonic, in honor of that unfortunate kid and because this is just what I am… A way past cool, mondo rapido hedgehog!" He solemnly declared with his usual cocky yet, reassuring attitude.

Tails nodded in approval and smiled.

"Let's go now… We still have to find the remaining emeralds and kick Ixis Naugus's butt!" Exclaimed the two-tailed vulpine in his own super hero pose… Sonic is addicting.

"Yeah! Let's kick that ehrrrr…. Girly Focus's butt!"

The younger just chuckled, then he and the reborn Sonic darted toward the spot in which Tails had left the X-Tornado.

Once the both of them entered in their respective cockpits, the kit sighed quite loudly.

"What's wrong, lil' bro?" Asked the brotherly hedgehog.

"It's Amy… And Chuck... I wish I could do something for them." The younger answered.

Sonic put an hand (the skin covered and gloved hand) on the kid's shoulder, who just turned to him and weakly smiled.

"There's nothing you could do for that poor guy, Tails… As for Amy, I'm sure that she will be fine... Call it 'my hedgehog's sixth sense'." The furry skinned, robotizied cool hedgehog reassured.

Somehow, it worked. It was logically impossible that Amy would have survived from that… But, as Tails knew, in a world dominated by Chaos, Logic wasn't that important.

"Let's go back to the base." Tails said. Then he thought about it for a moment and decided otherwise. "No, wait… There is another place we definitely must visit and it happen to be on the way for home." He looked back at Sonic, once again. "Sonic... Would you please recuperate Sir Charles's body?"

Without even asking for the reason, Sonic darted away from the plane and, just a super sonic second later, he came back with the robotic hedgehog's body on his shoulders… In the meantime, Tails had placed both the blue and the light blue emeralds in their possession, in the plane's motor.

"I wonder how fast it will go, now?" The boy genius asked to himself. "You're ready, Sonic?"

"I'm born ready, big guy! Let's do it to it!" The other said while placing the lifeless body on the left side of his cockpit and then himself in the right.

"Ok! LET'S GO!"

About a second after the accession… The X-Tornado broke the sound barrier with a loud Sonic Boom and rushed away from the island… The screams of it's passengers echoed in the wind.

* * *

During the hard confrontation that took place there, nobody seemed to notice a suspicious glowing white gem lying in the vicinity… Luckily, someone else did.

Shadow the Hedgehog came out from his hidden place and picked up the 7th Chaos Emerald.

He witnessed everything: the struggle, the doctor's confession and Sonic's courage.

He admired him… His "father" was definitely the perfect opponent he was looking for. Even the young fox has improved a lot since the last time they fought. His opinions toward the kid were correct, Tails was a Chosen One as well…

"Eh eh eh eh… To our next encounter, Freedom Fighters." He uttered.

The Ultimate Life Form turned himself to glance over the unconscious, wet form of a certain pink hedgehog he happened to save from sure drowning, a few moments earlier… She looked even more beautiful and attractive when asleep.

He thanked Chaos for the idea of following the blue hedgehog right into the not so secret F.F. base, where he found that note… And for the fact that he decided to come along within a Chaos Control.

He smiled. Not an evil nor a mischievous smile. Just a smile.

He was truly content that she was safe.

"Uhrrrn…"

She was waking up…

"… Where am I?"

"You're in safe, Amy." He reassured.

She looked at her dark lover, a joyful smirk made it's way into her lips… Then she noticed her clothes were wet and… Quite revealing.

She tried to cover her evidences by cuddling. She was blushing madly.

The black and red hedgehog chuckled, then he got closer to the shy young lady.

"S-Shadow, I-I…"

Before she could even mutter some comprehensible word, he was already kissing her…

And for the first time, she had no intentions to fight him… She immediately kissed him back. They were actually making out, big time!

The two lovers interrupted their kiss for a moment to stare into each other's gaze.

"We love you… Amy Rose." Said the male hedgehog.

"I love you too… Guys." She sweetly replied.

They embraced.

Somewhere, in Shadow's head, the omnipresent voice of his brother was imitating the noise of fireworks while pretending to hear Beethoven's 9th Symphony.

That was going to a be a very good night… For the three of them.


	5. Chapter 5

**5.**

_**Everything looked so peaceful.**_

_**The flower field… The trees… Even the rotten ruins.**_

_**She was home. **_

_**Everything was exactly how she remembered it. Except one thing… Something was missing… Or better, someone.**_

_**She was alone in that paradise… Alone… Without her friend… Without her love… Without him.**_

_**That made her sad. Even in Heaven, people can be sad. Does Heaven exist at all? Or it's just a philosophical concept? Was it just a state of mind or a very special moment in someone's life?**_

_**Whatever that could be… She couldn't be happy. **_

_**It wasn't paradise… Without him.**_

_**She set on the grassy green, trying to admire the plants and the flowers, trying to talk with them, as she used to do… But to no avail. They would not respond her questions… They stood silent and… Lifeless.**_

_**Suddenly, her world started to collapse… A black nothingness was devouring her surroundings.**_

_**In just a matter of a few scary seconds, she found herself engulfed in that void…**_

_**Void… **_

_**That name tormented her… It was so familiar yet, she couldn't quite understand why. She knew it was important, somehow… **_

_**She was feeling numb and incapable to move…**_

_**Then she saw them… Herself and Tails… Talking with each other.**_

**"_Tails… You must stop Ixis Naugus at all costs!" Her reflex was saying._**

**"_How?" Tails asked._**

**"_You'll have to fight against his servants… You'll have to fight my son, Void!"_**

_**The real Cosmo flinched… That name again… Wait, she had a son? She didn't know about it.**_

**"_I… Don't know if I can, Cosmo." Tails sorely remarked._**

**"_There is not another way, he is the designed Trigger that will unleash the Iblis, Naugus, into this world… He must be stopped. You must fight him, Tails!"_**

_**No…**_

**"_I see… I'll do it for you, Cosmo!"_**

_**No… Stop it.**_

**"_Thank you Tails… Once this story will be over… I shall return to you, my love."_**

_**NO! THAT'S NOT COSMO!!**_

_**The reflex slowly turned it's head to look at the frightened Seedrian in the eyes… It's features changed and it's face assumed a monstrous form…**_

**"_I shall return to you, my love… AHR AHR AHR AHR AHR AHR AHR!!!" The demon teased._**

_**No… Tails has been fooled… It's a trap… It is all a trap!**_

**"_TAAAAAIIIIIIILLLLS!!!" Cried the desperate plant girl… But it was useless._**

_**Nobody would have heard her pleads… In the crystal prison she was locked in.**_

_**She quietly sobbed… She was so sad and scared. That ominous, diabolical laugh echoed in her hurt mind… She wanted to leave, to escape from that emptiness… She wanted to be with her two-tailed hero…**_

_**She knew it was impossible… She couldn't reach Tails with her mind and, therefore, she couldn't hope to escape this place.**_

_**She hugged her knees and cuddled… Still sobbing…**_

_**Sobbing…**_

_**Waiting…**_

_**Hoping…**_

* * *

"I hope you have an explanation for this!"

The room was unusually dark, it was like if it's occupants feared the light… The un-mistakable light of truth and justice, someone would say.

"I do have an ezplanazion… I'm not a fuel!" Said an obnoxious French voice, once again misspelling the word "fool".

The only source of light was a modest table lamp placed in the middle of the large rotund table. It's ray was illuminating the very worried face of a rather young jackal with strange blond hair and a military outfit that didn't fit with his true personality.

"I'm waiting…" Another voice stated, it's impatience was dramatically clear.

The jackal in question was sweating profusely and not just because of the lamp…

"Ve needed informatiòn…" He tried.

"And so, you authorized the torture, uh?"

"Vell… Yez but, Mon Chaos… Vhat vere ve zuppozed to do!?"

"TO ACT LIKE CIVILIZED PEOPLE!!!" The voice scolded.

"Enough with this…" A third voice made it's presence known. "… I won't tolerate inquisitions inside the Mobian Council's War Room." He stated. "LIGHTS!" He then cried.

The darkness that engulfed the hall was now gone… The two figures were now perfectly visible in the frightened eyes of the French Mobian.

One was a squirrel, a chipmunk lady with gorgeous red hair and green eyes. Unlike other Mobian ladies, her fur was thick enough to cover her privates, therefore she only wore a blue jacket and nothing else. She was clearly not amused by the sudden interruption of her "inquisition".

The other one was an old looking male skunk. He had a thick wad of white hair and he wore a military vest, just like the jackal, with several merit badges attached on it.

"Sally Acorn…" He greeted.

"Sir Geoffrey St. John…" She replied.

They observed each other for a minute or so, then Sally broke the ice.

"I'm just doing my job here, St, John. Antoine Depardieu must respond for war crimes against the person of Snively Robotnik…" She said while looking harshly at the inquired jackal. "… He's already confessed." She added.

The skunk looked un-fazed.

"Lady Acorn… Antoine did authorized that interrogation method on Snively Robotnik… Only after I've permitted it." Sir Geoffrey solemnly stated.

The young squirrel's attention was all for him, now.

"Why?" She asked.

"Because… This is a war, Sally, and in a war there's no room for these so-called 'civil rights' and other garbage… We needed informations about Dr Eggman and that worthless little human happened to be his best man and nephew… That's why we tortured him."

Sally looked at the skunk in front of him with utter disgust.

"That sadistic course of action caused a living being to give up his own life… That's something that Eggman would do! What makes you think that you are better than him?" She asked in an angry yet, contained tone.

St. John grinned angrily.

"We didn't start this conflict! We didn't kill or robotizied millions of people! We're fighting a damn war here, not running a theme park! It's something you would never understand… 'Princess'." He venomously added.

At this remark, Sally Acorn exploded.

"Tell me, 'General'… Where were you when the Empire first attacked? Where were you when thousands of children found themselves without their families? Where were you when those same kids decided to do battle against the dictator himself and become Freedom Fighters? TELL ME WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU WHEN THEY WERE FIGHTING AND DYEING FOR THIS COUNTRY!!!?"

Sally was on the verge of tears… Tears of rage and distress. She knew what her soldiers have gone through… She knew it, first hand. For a moment, her mind fixed itself on the image of her beloved, adopted son, kneeled in front of three self-made graves… Mourning his recent losses.

Sir Geoffrey was taken aback by her outburst and it bothered him the fact that he didn't have a proper answer for those questions…

Sally answered for him.

"I tell you were you where… You were hiding your scary butt behind your political position!"

Even Antoine couldn't help but feel aggravated. Those were truthful words.

"… This conversation is over, Lady Acorn. I would appreciate if you would leave this room and Knothole as soon as possible. You don't belong here… Not anymore. You have a son, now… Take good care of him." The old skunk replied quietly.

Sally was literally fuming when she left the Council's hall, almost knocking down it's door in the process…

She reached the fancy fountain in the middle of the gate surrounded village known as Knothole. She set on it's board, cursing under her breath.

"It didn't go to well, right?"

She turned her head only to find the friendly and reassuring gaze of her father, Maximillian Acorn.

Sally sighed.

"Definitely not… You were right about them."

The former king set near his daughter.

"They kept me uninformed about their methods… They've probably thought I was too soft." He said in a consoling tone.

"What do we do, now?" She asked showing concern in her eyes. "We can't just arrest them… Mobius would remain without rulers and G.U.N. would surely use this situation as an excuse for instituting a federal government..."

At this, her father put on a suspicious smirk.

"I wouldn't worry about that… There's a way to dispose of good old Geoffrey and his lackey, Antoine, without G.U.N. intervention." He said.

"How?"

"By instantly substituting them, of course…"

Sally frowned.

"That's impossible, even if I would return to occupy my previous place in the council… We would need at least three members to form a decent institution… With St. John and Depardieu out of commission, only you and I would…"

Her father interrupted her by putting an hand on her mouth.

"… That's where you wrong, Sally. You see, I'm waiting the arrival of a very special person… From 'The Wrath of Mobius' Militia!" He muttered, not quite under his breath.

The girl's eyes widen in amazement.

So, the rumors where true… His father did secretely make an alliance with that rebellious group... But why? And why this person he was waiting for, was so important?

* * *

**Outside the village.**

"I'm tellin' ya, hun! I'm waited by old king Max himself!"

"And I'm telling you, Robian… That I don't believe you!"

Bunny Rabbot, despite being an half robotic full trained fighter, used to be the sweetest person in the world… Always ready to help and comfort whoever would have needed it. There was, however, something that she didn't tolerate… Impolite people. They truly made the teenage rabbit angry…

And this rather offending guard shouldn't have treated her in that way.

"I'm sorry, hun, would ya repeat that?" She sweetly asked.

"I said: TAKE A HIKE, ROBIAN FREAK!!!" The young and foolish greenish hedgehog repeated.

She simply smiled.

He simply screamed in pain.

She then entered in the city, where she was immediately greeted by a vast number of sore looking guards who surrounded her, pointing their electric spears at her neck.

"Wow guys… Ya certainly know how ta make a girl feel appreciated!" She ironically said.

"What have you done to Manic?" One of the soldiers yelled.

She innocently shrugged.

"A was just teaching him a lesson of good manners, hun… An' his quills accidentally dropped… Eh eh eh…" She giggled.

Some of the other guards couldn't help but chuckle too… No one really liked that Manic guy.

"Bring her to prison." The captain managed to order through his hardly contained laughs.

"Not… Funny." Complained the now bald hedgehog in the distance.

* * *

The hot sandy wind was definitely getting to his nerves. Now he knew that he hated deserts with every fiber of his being.

Desert storms were not an amusing experience. The merciless sand through his quills… The knowledge that opening his eyes would have meant a permanent damage in his viewing sight… And the fact that his sole proclaimed "Virgil" guide had disappeared, weren't making his day any better than before.

A few selected words crossed Knuckles's mind… And none of them could have been repeated in a civilized society without risking public lynch.

_**Why the hell did I start following that motherfuckin' phantom? Why didn't I call the Chaosdamned Ghostbusters, instead!? Urgh… Damn that Sonic and his jokes… They're contagious!**_

This was actually his most "Rated E" thought.

The utter thickness of the sand storm, united with the fact that the echidna was forced to cover his face with his arms, didn't help him notice that giant stone door right in front of him until it was too late…

Knuckles's form hit the door unceremoniously… Angry like Hell, the now redder echidna broke down the stone barrier with his huge namesakes.

He then entered.

"WHAT THE MOTHER OF ALL FUCKERS IS THIS!!!?" He yelled.

He apparently ended up in some kind of messed up labyrinth like cave with random rivers of flaming lava running around... And annoying ghosts.

Oh wait… It was just Fang.

It appeared out of nowhere, with a peculiar "Master of Life" dressing-gown on.

"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN!!!? AND WHY ARE YOU WEARING THAT SCI-FI CUSTOM!!?" Asked the irate walls' mauler.

Fang's ghostly form just smiled, then he said:

"Use the force… Knuckles."

Knuckles immediately followed the suggestion and, in a burst of rage, tried to hit the blasted specter dead on… Only to come through it's vanishing form and comically fall into a cliff, cursing like possessed by the entire infernal pantheon, in the process.

"And watch your first step!" Added Fang while grinning at his unfortunate traveler…

And so, Dante entered Hell… In order to reach Heaven.

* * *

**Knothole Village. Detention Area. Visiting room.**

Two figures were set on a table. They were having an animated discussion.

"You certainly have your way with men… Luckily, I ordered the captain to advice me when you would arrive."

"What can a say… I'm just a sweet lil' girl from de South."

The paternal squirrel was smiling.

"It's been a while, Bunny… How's Tikal?" Maximillian asked.

"She's doing great…" Responded the good looking rabbit with a seemingly distant tone.

The former monarch could say that she wasn't doing that great but he wisely decided to avoid the argument.

"I know you have a message for me." He casually said.

Bunny caressed her broken rabbity ear and sighed. She had, indeed, a message for him but it bothered her the fact that she had no clue of what it meant.

She dismissed her inner argument and politely fulfilled her duty.

"Tikal says… 'The substitute has arrived'. I wonda' what det means?"

And now, good old Max (or Max-hun, as Bunny loved to call him) was grinning happily like a libertine inside a bordello.

The Robian Rabbit seemed a little taken aback by the chipmunk's reaction. She pretended to feel shivers on her robotizied left arm.

"Ehm… Is everythin' ok, Max-hun?"

"Oh yes, Lady Rabbot… Everything is going to be just fine." He said to the bewildered girl while standing from his seat and… To Bunny's shock… Politely inclined before her.

She was left speechless, her mouth was agape… Even her defecting ear stood upright in amazement.

After resuming his previous position, Maximillian Acorn looked the intimidated teenager dead in the eyes.

"Do you remember anything before you joined the "Wrath of Mobius" Army?" He said.

The Rabbot shook her head… That was a very delicate argument. She hadn't often talked or thought about it… Mainly because every time she did so, those horrible images came to her mind…

Images of death and violent screams…

Images of herself when she was little, crying her parents' names…

And… That little creature… With a ridiculous pointed nose…

"Do you remember how'd you survived the Roboticizer?" He asked another question.

She was struggling with her own self-defenses in order to answer him.

"I… I was… Saved… I was saved by a lil' guy with a long nose." She seemed to remember.

Max was satisfied.

"What's de meanin' of all this?" She now asked.

The noble squirrel stood still right in front of her.

"Lady Rabbot… There is a certain person I would like you too see."

Bunny was now even more fazed.

* * *

Knuckles wasn't pleased. Not at all.

He just had to go through lethal lava rivers, spiky booby traps, sudden cliffs and un-resting, vengeful guardian spirits in order to come to this far…

"I hope it'll be worth it, you Slimer!" A seemingly roasted echidna warrior lamented.

"I can assure you, my pissed off-able friend, that your reward will be astoundingly unimaginable!" The ghostly guide answered.

"What?" Knuckles looked at him with a puzzled expression.

Fang sighed.

"I meant… It'll be worth it."

"Oooooh…"

"BEHOLD!"

A random wall opened himself… Probably fearing Knuckles's reputation… Revealing an enormous, ancient chamber behind it.

The red one looked genuinely surprised and marveled by such a sight. He turned his head over his unreliable traveler.

"What is this place?" He demanded to know.

The Sniper turned his fluorescent head too and stared at his unwilling companion with evident glee and excitement.

"This, my friend… Is where everything began… The supreme legacy of your kind… The one place in which all the universe's chaotic energies came and go from… The place where the powerful Chaos Emeralds have been created… BEHOLD 'HIDDEN PALACE'!!!"

* * *

Stupor, wasn't quite the proper word to describe her feelings in that moment… Sadness, Shock, Rage and Regret, could have been more appropriate words to define the troubled emotions that were crossing her youthful heart.

There he was, on a surgeon stretcher, the dead and visibly mauled body of her savior…

The tiny body of a man, a human, who's been a vermin for his entire existence… Except, when he rescued her from fatal demise, all those years ago.

His face was almost unrecognizable due to the scornful insomnia he suffered and, of course, the numerous beatings.

The nose, however, the long, pointed, ridiculous nose, was un-mistakable.

She recognized him because of it.

Bunny Rabbot's tearful violet eyes were staring at his form on that table. One thing was certain, he didn't die peacefully.

"His name… Was Snively Robotnik. I bet you've already heard about him. He's quite famous, after all."

The Mobian rabbit's gaze didn't left Snively's side, not even to speak back to Maximillian, who was inside the morgue with her.

Naturally, she knew who Snively was… A backstabbing traitor… A murderer and a genocidal… And Dr Eggman's best man.

Yet… She felt extremely sorry, none the less. She didn't know why she felt like that for the small Overlander… He was a stranger to her, yet, it was like she'd known him for all her life.

It was depressing and, at the same time, oddly refreshing.

"How?" She simply asked.

"Suicide… He probably couldn't take it anymore… Of his life, I mean." Answered Max-hun.

She felt even more miserable, now.

"Bunny… For some reason, he decided to entrust me with something very important… Something that was meant for you."

For the first time since their arrival in the morgue, Bunny turned her head away from the corpse, to stare into the old squirrel's eyes.

"What is it?" She asked while disposing of her tears.

"A testament…" He quietly replied.

* * *

The chamber was immense and drastically old, to say the very least. It had immense turmoil columns and dusty marble floor.

Knuckles was the first living being to ever enter this place from a very long time.

He was puzzled, confused and agape. This was the legendary "Hidden Palace" in which the 7 Chaos Emeralds were born... Built by his own people specifically for that purpose.

He couldn't believe it. He couldn't believe how many legends he used to know, have turned out to be real. He couldn't believe this majestic place to be situated on this crazy floating island.

"I think it's finally time for me, to explain a few things about this place…" The now utterly appreciated phantom guide told to his amazed traveler.

The echidna was all ears… Figuratively, since he didn't have any.

Fang started his tale.

* * *

_**This whole universe exists thanks to a balance… Chaos is the balance… **_

_**I know, it sound like a paradox… But without the infinite streams of chaos energy that engulfed our lives… This whole plan of existence would simply cease to exist.**_

_**You have to understand that, in the caustically chaotic world we live, every single action made by anyone corresponds to a unique reaction…**_

_**You know about the theory of "Cause and Effect", right? Well… It's a little bit more complicated than that.**_

_**You see… Even the most insignificant event… Like the death of a butterfly… Can generate an incredible amount of changes and twists in those energy's streams… And it's simply impossible to predict the results… It's all Chaos, after all.**_

_**All unpredictability…**_

_**All an uncomprehensible mess that we are not bound to understand…**_

_**Things Just happen without a damn reason… They just do. **_

_**Nature, Evolution, Life and Death, are all part of this cluster.**_

_**And then… There are the classical exceptions that confirm the rule.**_

_**The so-called Chosen Ones… Special people that have been blessed by raw chaos powers… Because of Nature's doing…**_

_**Is that familiar to you? Knuckles?**_

* * *

A ring bell was playing inside the echidna's head.

"You mean… Me?" He stupidly asked.

"And that two-tailed fox, that flaming cat girl, that plant boy, even Sonic and Shadow… People like you, who can aspire to control Chaos itself… Ehe! 'Chaos Control' is the ultimate paradox, isn't it?"

"But… Why only the new element in the evolutionary scale are blessed with such ability?"

"Weren't you listening? There's not a scientific motive for it… Not even a theological, for that matter… Things. Just. Happen. The creation of the universe? The world and it's life forms? The meaning of Life? We aren't bound to know… Maybe, it is all the doing of a God… Maybe we all are the non-original characters of a fan made novel… Again, who knows? That's why Life is Chaos…"

Knuckles's head was about to explode. Fang sighed.

"See? That's the problem with rational people… Or religious people, as well… They all desperately try to find a sense in everything in order to achieve Control… The Truth is… Existence is meaningless... It just exists… And all you can do… Is living it, the way you want to… That's Freedom, my friend."

The echidna relaxed.

"Ok, so… What about this particular place?" He said, conveniently changing the topic.

Fang smiled and resumed his story.

* * *

_**As I told you before… Chaos itself is the balance of this universe… Imagine what could possibly happen if those infinite invisible energies weren't around… It would have meant the end of everything as we know it…**_

_**Unfortunately, this gruesome eventuality is NOT a chimera… At least, not in this world.**_

_**All because of the humans… Their lust for Power and Control… **_

_**The reason behind their wars… The Control over everything… The annihilation of Arbitrary Freedom and the endless possibilities… And therefore, the end of Chaos itself.**_

_**The 7 Chaos Emeralds were the ultimate and daring answer to that foolishness…**_

_**Mystical gems embraced by several chaos energy lines… The incongruent attempt to control Chaos… In order to defend it from it's enemies.**_

_**Quite the paradox, isn't it?**_

_**In order to accumulate the necessary energy for the emeralds to work… The mages that have been selected for this task needed a lot of power… Power that they didn't have… Therefore, they had to gain more of it… In the unnatural way.**_

_**You see… True Magic is the ability to control chaos energy in order to bend reality itself… Without abusing of it, of course…**_

_**The three Mobians in questions were Chosen Ones… They were the first, of their respective races, to have such ability, although clearly limited… As I told you before, their descendents naturally inherited that capacity… Just like Tikal and most of the echidnas.**_

_**However, their natural powers weren't anywhere near enough to summon enough chaos energy to fill those gems… That's why they needed a very special device in order to achieve their goal…**_

_**A legendary object they casually found here… On Angel Island… A place so messed up because of it's great amount of chaos energy…**_

_**They built this sacred structure, the Hidden Palace, around this peculiar device… They adored it like if it was a God…**_

_**As a matter of fact… It's the closer thing to a God… It's the miracle stone from which Chaos itself is spread upon this world…**_

_**The mother source of the Chaos Emeralds… The Master Emerald!!!**_

* * *

"The Masterfucker what!!!?"

"Perhaps… It's better if I show directly." He sighed before adding: "Follow me, Dante."

* * *

**Knothole Village. Maximillian Acorn's hut.**

Bunny Rabbot fixed her gaze over a television screen. The image of a small man was appearing inside of it.

"Hello Bunny Rabbot… If you're seeing this videotape… Then you're already know that I'm dead." The very tired figure of Snively Robotnik spoke through the TV. "This… Is the testament of my passage to this world… A knowledge, that will change a lot of things around here… Not only for you but for the fate of this war itself…"

The Rabbot was listening intently.

"… By now, you should be well aware of the fact that I saved you. That was probably the best thing I've ever done in my whole miserable life…" His face frowned. "I still don't know why I did it… It was not courage. I'm not that kind of man… But I did it and, quite frankly, I still believe it was worthless… You're probably dead by now… Kids in your condition usually do not reach the 10 years of age… But if you did survive and reached adolescence, then congratulations!" Suddenly, his features lighted up. "There is a thing that you must know… On that night, the night when we escaped from that Egg Prison, I just had the time to hide a certain object inside your mechanical arm… You may want to check inside of it… Consider it, a little goodbye present."

A baffled Bunny looked down at her own arm in amazement. The Snively on the screen was still speaking.

"I won't live long enough to see you again but I entrust Sir Maximillian into giving this video to you… If you're still around, of course." He chuckled a little before adding: "Bunny… I want you to know that you're the only one person in the entire world that made feel me of some use… And for that… I will be forever grateful. Goodbye and, as far as it is possible, be happy."

And the television screen turned blank.

The teenage Robian was openly crying her eyes out. Someone put an hand on her shoulder in a consoling manner.

"During his imprisonment, he used to confide me everything… He told me about you and your unknown burden…" Said Max-hun. "… I secretely helped him made this video."

She took his hand in hers.

"M-Max-hun… What's inside of me?" She sobbed.

Without responding, the old squirrel took her robotizied arm and opened a little vault on it. From this compartment, he picked a little microchip.

Then he finally answered.

"In this seemingly insignificant piece of technology, lies the key to end this war once and for all… That makes you, Lady Bunny Rabbot, the most important person on Earth." He proudly said, holding the chip tightly.

"How so?" She asked.

Max grinned like a kid before the latest console system.

"Because… This, right here, is the plant… OF ROBOTROPOLIS!!!" He finally yelled in delight.

She gulped… She had it for all this time and she never knew about it? She felt rather stupid for that.

Max looked down at her, still grinning.

"With this little treasure, we'll be able to locate all the city's defense systems… And then attack!!!" He paused for a minute to calm himself. "But first… We have a score to settle with a certain stinky skunk and his whiney lackey…" He then offered his hand at her. "What do you say, new member of the Mobian Council?"

At that… Bunny fainted.

* * *

"We're almost there…"

"I would like to know who the fuck projected this house of madness… Why there aren't some bloody stairs!?"

"Perhaps… They didn't want anybody to find it?"

"Duh…"

In order to arrive to the highest floor of the palace, Knuckles had to climb a 100 feet tall granite column… Luckily, being an echidna, his spiky hands could afford him of some rather good climbing ability.

This place has been clearly built by echidnas, for echidnas.

Once he reached the peak and so, the questioned floor, the former walls' mauler, now granite columns' thrasher (his pointed namesakes left some remarkable signs), tried to retain his breath… But to no avail.

What he saw, right in front of him, left his lungs completely empty.

An old altar, a mighty and ominous shrine partially covered by vegetation… On the top of it, lied the most beautiful and gigantic jewel in the whole world!

Knuckles first instinct was to grab that prized piece of heaven, sell it and live the rest of his natural life as a sheik in some remote middle east country… With an harem and some slaves, of course.

Then he decided otherwise… Sometimes, being perfectly logical and rational could be helpful.

The palace didn't have a roof, therefore the sun light would have give to that gem, the proper respect.

It looked like one of the Chaos Emeralds… Except for the fact that it was green and 10 times bigger.

Suddenly, Knuckles felt a funny feeling in his head quills, he put an hand in it and pulled out his purple emerald. It was glowing, probably excited to see it's "mother" again.

As if on cue, the Master Emerald glowed in response.

Fang reappeared beside the confused echidna… It was Explanation Time!

"The Master Emerald is basically the source of chaos energy… It's where old energies come, get absorbed and recreate themselves into new ones… It is thanks to it, that things like Evolution, Nature, Life and Death are allowed to exist… It's the Circle of Life itself! And the Chaos Emeralds are made with just a figment of it's power. Fascinating, eh?" He said.

The unwilling Dante scratched his head.

"Let me get this straight… We all exist, have a natural life and death, because of that oversized jewel?"

Fang smiled.

"Knuckles the Echidna, may I present you... Chaos! Or God, if you're the religious type."

Knuckles's mouth was agape.

"But… How is that… Possible?"

The ghost rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Do I have to repeat that speech about the 'we are not bound to know' and 'Life is Chaos' thing, another time? For what we know the Master Emerald could be a simple device who randomly manipulate chaos energy or a sentient entity that does things on purpose… Either worthless philosophical theory you like more. The point is that… Without that rock to keep things balanced, this whole universe would blow himself up… Let's just leave it at that." The phantom dismissed.

The baffled echidna stared at the majestic gem in amazement for a few minutes, before asking the only one question that truly tormented him.

"Tell me… How did they transferred the Master Emerald's energy into those jewels?"

"I'm not the right person to ask that topic, I'm afraid." Fang began. "… But, fortunately, I just know the one." He gestured Knuckles to follow it's ghostly lead and the echidna, obediently, did so.

* * *

When the X-Tornado landed nearby the Knothole Village, in the Great Forest, it's two dizzy passengers were very happy to descend from it.

"I… Will… Never… Do… That… Again!" Wildly muttered a messed up vulpine while dropping his own pilot's goggles.

Sonic, on the other hand…

"That… Was… Mondo… Extremo!"

Once recollected their thoughts, the two of them started walking toward the village. They've been greeted by a bald hedgehog.

"Ehi what's up bud? Stress? Or are ya a Buddhist monk?" Sonic joked.

"Ha ha ha… Freaking hilarious! You can't enter anyway!" Replied Manic, the unfortunate gate keeper of Knothole.

Sonic and Tails looked each other in the eyes… And smirked.

Manic screamed in pain.

"Do you think it was necessary?" Tails asked, a little guilty for the guy… Not.

"Yeah… Now his body fur matches his hair!"

"But he didn't have any hair."

"Precisely!"

Once the two friends and Freedom Fighters entered the village… Confusion and agitation greeted them.

A few screaming persons were the main reasons of that. They could clearly see a very irate old skunk and a tearful jackal being escorted, or better, forced, into the local prison by a group of short-tempered guards.

"Cool! A brawl… I wanna be in!" Declared the easily excitable hedgehog.

His two-tailed companion rolled his eyes.

"TAILS!!!"

They both turned to see a very agitated young squirrel run toward them like a pit bull dog on a cat.

Sally Acorn embrace her adopted vulpine son lovingly, he immediately hugged her back without saying a word.

Sonic whistled.

"Ehi! No welcome committee for this cool hedgehog, hot stuff?"

The chipmunk lady released Tails to look the audacious skin covered, robotizied Mobian in the eyes.

"Let me guess… Your Sonic, right?" She didn't have the dis-pleasure to meet him, yet.

The would be lady-killer seemed amused.

"My, my… Our reputation precedes us!" He said, adopting his legendary British accent and a regal pose.

Both Sally and Tails rolled their respective eyes, then looked at each other.

"Tails, I have some great news!"

"Sally, I have some bad news!"

They practically talked in unison.

* * *

"What's this?"

"This, is a pool…"

"I CAN FUCKING SEE THAT!!! WHAT THE HELL IS IT'S UTILITY!!!"

"It's where one of sorcerers that created the Chaos Emeralds used to magically register his memories…"

"Oh… Well, that'll be useful."

Fang seemed more annoyed than ever.

"Just… Put a finger in it… And wait." The "Virgil" guide stated.

Knuckles did so and in a matter of seconds, a humongous head came out from it!

"AAAAAAAAH!!!" Went the surprised echidna.

"Relax… It's a registration, remember?"

The giant head was all red, except for his muzzle, and it had dreadlocked quills. He was clearly an echidna, an old looking one, too.

He spoke with his ominous voice, in the ancient echidna language… Therefore only another echidna like Knuckles could have understood him.

"My name is Pachacamac… I'm one of the four mages responsible for the birth of the Chaos Emeralds…"

"Wait… Weren't they only three?" The younger viewer asked to his specter companion, who just shrugged, pretending to be oblivious about the whole situation.

The floating head above the tiny pool continued his speech.

"We've been the selected ones for this task… We needed the power of the Master Emerald in order to succeed… But we couldn't just take that energy… That's why we asked for his help… And in doing so, we almost doomed the entire planet!"

Knuckles seemed reasonably worried at this…

"If only we didn't try this madness in the first place… If only we dropped that absurd idea of creating those damned emeralds… She would still be alive!"

"She? Who's she?" Asked the very puzzled echidna to no one in particular.

"Listen to me very carefully, current Chosen One… For this shall be nothing less than the Truth… The Truth about the genesis of the emeralds… And the truth about Iblis himself, the powerful entity known as… Ixis Naugus!"

And now… Knuckles's body was shaking in great expectation.


	6. Chapter 6

**6.**

_**In the beginning, there was pure Chaos… The energies that filled our world used to be spread freely… Therefore, Life and Nature had the respect they deserved…**_

_**Then… The Overlanders came.**_

_**They're species should have died a couple of millenniums earlier in that earthquake… Their only existence was unconceivable and blaspheme toward Nature itself!**_

_**Their time should have ended… But they were alive, none the less. That was the further prove of the endless possibilities that Life is engulfed with…**_

_**They stayed hidden under the soil for so long… Only to come out and pretend to be the rightful rulers of this planet… They didn't have the rights to claim such thing! This was our time… This was the time of the Mobiankind!**_

_**And so… The war started.**_

_**The Overlanders didn't care about Nature or Chaos… They only blindly believed in Order and absolute Control! Their lust for power brought only misery and demise to our lands…**_

_**They denied everything that was sacred for us…**_

_**The humans believed that everything had a sense… And that sense was for them to dominate as much as they could!**_

_**We couldn't allow this madness… That's why we did what we did… **_

_**The ultimate Blasphemy!**_

_**To obtain control over Chaos… In order to defeat Order and conserve our Freedom…**_

_**Three Mobians had been selected for this seemingly impossible mission…**_

_**Myself, Pachacamac, from the echidna race...**_

_**Jules the hedgehog...**_

_**And, from the Kitsune's race… Merlin Prower.**_

_**We knew that, if possessing that unimaginable power would have been possible, we were the ones who could achieve it… We were Chosen by Nature, after all.**_

_**We also knew where to find the source that would have give us the strength we needed…**_

_**Angel Island… The one place in which all the world's energies are conveyed…**_

_**The mystic reign of the Master Emerald, the God of Chaos... **_

_**My people casually found the island in the middle of the Emerald Ocean… Partially hidden by the fog… They built the sacred Hidden Palace and all those traps around it in order to better protect it…**_

_**You should know by now about them… Since you've made it so far, current Chosen One.**_

_**Right before leaving our homes for the island… We met her…**_

_**She was a unique being… Different from any life form I've ever seen…She wasn't a Mobian… And she wasn't even an animal…**_

_**She had long silver leaf like hair… And soft peach skin… She hadn't a nose… And she wore a gown made of petals…**_

_**She said she came from the Emerald Hill Zone and that she was the only one of her kind… The first ever sentient plant… Born from the mysterious "Kitsune's Mate", of which the Hill was full of…**_

_**She told us that she felt she had to come here… That Nature itself chose her… She seemed convinced of it… And her amazing powers didn't betray her words.**_

_**She could communicate with plants and manipulate the vegetation.**_

_**Her name was…**_

_**Gaia Earthia… The Seedrian.**_

_**We accepted her in our group.**_

_**She was so beautiful and solar… So full of Life yet, so full of doubts…**_

_**That was probably the reason of why Merlin fell for her… And why she loved him back.**_

_**Knowing the legend about the Kitsune's evolution and the role of a certain plant in it… I found their love to be rather appropriate…**_

Knuckles was mouth agape… Everything was so familiar, too familiar. Two youngsters in love, a fox named Prower and… A plant girl.

This couldn't definitely be a coincidence.

The giant head of Pachacamac continued his amazing tale.

_**We spent several years on the island, desperately trying to encase some of the Master Emerald's energy inside those 7 empty shells we brought with us… **_

_**We feared the immense power of the God gem, that's why we didn't choose to use it against the humans in the first place… We opted, instead, for the idea of taking figments of his energy and encased them inside the selected jewels we had…**_

_**That would have allowed us to better control the element without risking a disfiguring death… Or so we thought…**_

_**For the time being, however, we had another problem at hands… We weren't capable to summon the required energy from the giant emerald!**_

_**We tried everything… Ancient litanies… Baffling magical spells… Nothing worked! **_

_**We were starting to lose hope, when… He came in our aid.**_

_**A human…**_

_**A traitor of his own kind… Who was rejected because of his believes about the possibility of manipulating chaos energy.**_

_**A brilliant scientist by the name of…**_

_**Gerald Robotnik.**_

* * *

In hearing that cursed name, Knuckles's own spine shivered in horror.

"ROBOTNIK!!!" He yelled, his features showed both rage and irrational fear.

"Indeed… The good old doctor's family has ancient origins. Gerald was the patriarch… It all started with him." The ghostly Fang confirmed. "Hush, now… Here comes the best part." It added.

The echidna stood in silence while the head proceeded with the story.

* * *

_**He brought his technology to help our cause… He said that he only had scientific interests about our task…**_

_**Earthia, however, had a different opinion… She could see inside this Overlander's very soul… She could see his true interests.**_

_**She tried to warn us… But we didn't listen… And it was already too late to change things.**_

_**We trusted the human… We were desperate.**_

_**We've been so foolish!**_

_**He used a peculiar machine… A machine built specifically for absorbing chaos energy.**_

_**We didn't think it could have been possible… But apparently, the human's technology was capable of doing such thing … **_

_**Gerald built his device on the Master Emerald and the machine started draining the energy from the jewel and transferred it into the selected 7 shells… **_

_**It actually worked… Our magic didn't have any effect but a lifeless piece of machinery did!**_

_**And then… It happened.**_

_**Gerald did the unthinkable… Before any of us could do anything, he put himself into the machine while it was still absorbing the powers of the emerald!**_

_**He laughed.**_

_**He laughed like the fool he was… He said that he was going to achieve the ultimate power and become a God…**_

_**Instead, all he achieved… Has been his ultimate demise.**_

_**The energy was too much for the machine to handle… It exploded… With the screaming Overlander inside of it.**_

_**When the dust was settled… A figure was standing where the cursed device used to be.**_

_**It was an horrible creature… And, by the looks of it, it was very ancient.**_

_**He said that thanks to the foolish human's efforts and the burst of energy that was generated from the explosion, he's been finally freed from his prison… **_

_**He claimed to be a God… A Devil… Even the Author of Fate itself!**_

_**One thing was certain… He had the powers to back up his words.**_

_**Our combined strength wasn't enough to stop him… His powers seemed unlimited… He could bend reality at his own image!**_

_**He could control Chaos itself! A being like him shouldn't exist… How could that be possible!!?**_

_**We've been all defeated… Except her.**_

_**I was still conscious when it happened… And, unfortunately, so was Merlin.**_

_**The seven gems did manage to collect enough energy from the Master Emerald… And all of them were encircling the body of Earthia.**_

_**Even that creature seemed puzzled.**_

_**With the Chaos Emerald's powers, the Seedrian was able to open an inter-dimensional portal… **_

_**The ancient demon was sucked in it… And Earthia sealed the portal for good.**_

_**Unfortunately, that operation required a lot of power… More than the emeralds themselves… It required, the Seedrian's own life force.**_

_**That was the price she paid for saving us all… That was the price we paid for our ignorance…**_

_**She died quietly in Merlin's hands… She was happy that he survived…**_

_**My Kitsune friend cried his eyes out… **_

_**In the end, we reached our goal…**_

_**But at what price!**_

* * *

The echidna by the name of his knuckles, looked more astounded than ever.

"Playing with the fabric of time and space… Is definitely not a healthy thing. She paid the price…" Fang quietly muttered.

It's red traveler adopted a sore look.

"This is all disgusting… How can humans be so low?"

"Don't generalize, Knuckles… They aren't all the same. Good and Evil are nothing more than relative concepts." It added. "By the way… Wanna know what that machine was?" It asked.

Knuckles nodded.

"It was just a prototype… Of what it would have become, several millenniums later… A machine capable of using chaos energy to turn people into something different…" It said while smiling mischievously.

"… The Roboticizer." The echidna concluded the sentence for the ghost.

"Yes… But that's another story. Let's focus on this one… Shall we?"

The both of them resumed their viewing. The head of Pachacamac was about to start the last part of his tale.

* * *

_**Before his defeat and imprisonment, the creature yelled a prophecy.**_

**"_Foolish mortals! You can't hope to stop me… I'm the predestined ruler of this world, as the Ancient Walkers stated… I shall create Order over Chaos and annihilate all the undeserving lesser beings! Hear me out, oh cursed Mobians and plant like creature… For I predict that, several millenniums from now, your direct descendants will cause my liberation… When the three vessels of Intelligence, Strength and Speed, along with the Iblis Trigger, will appear into this world and battle for the prized Chaos Emeralds... I shall return! MY NAME IS IXIS NAUGUS!!! I am your Iblis!!!"_**

_**This is what he said, word for word… We didn't believe him, of course… No one has a predetermined fate… But we feared him, anyway.**_

_**We didn't want to run any risk… He said that our descendants will free him… It was clearly referred to of all us… Even Earthia.**_

_**We didn't want to run any risk… We had to ensure to vanquish at least one of the terms in Naugus's prophecy.**_

_**That's why… We came back to Emerald Hill and… We… Killed all the plants.**_

_**Gaia Earthia was the only one of her kind and she said she was born from the "Kitsune's Mate"… **_

_**I still feel sick to this very day… Merlin was the one who took it the worst…**_

_**And that's not all!**_

_**We learned how to use the emeralds and with their great power within our grasp, we became unstoppable!**_

_**We used our new found energy to raise Angel Island from the ocean and hidden it above the clouds… No one else would have been able to found it, unless, of course, a being like us.**_

_**We could control Chaos itself… We were like Gods… We've been too blind for noticing that this intoxicating power was slowly draining our life forces…**_

_**We were slowly dieing and there wasn't anything we could do about it… We used it too much… We relied too much on that energy… **_

_**We were addicted… And death was the price.**_

_**I can't say we didn't deserve it.**_

_**Listen me well, oh Chosen by Nature… **_

_**Whatever you do…**_

_**While on this island, do NOT engage battle with your peers… And do NOT use any of the Chaos Emeralds, either… The amount of energy that a conflict like this would generate could very well be enough to broke the seal Earthia created!**_

_**Ixis Naugus mustn't be freed!**_

_**Protect this world… Even if it doesn't deserve it.**_

* * *

With that said, Pachacamac the echidna disappeared through the fluxes of time, once again_._

Everything was quite clear in Knuckles's head. The burdening weight of Knowledge had finally reached him… That, indeed, was the truth about the emeralds' genesis and the origin of the so-called Anti-Chaos.

For the first time since the beginning of this mess, the young echidna warrior had successfully realized his true role in all of this absurd plot… And his friends' as well.

He spoke.

"So… I'm the Vessel of Strength, Sonic is the one of Speed and, logically, Tails is the Intelligence… And that Void character is the Trigger, right?" He said while staring at his spectral companion as if expecting a confirmation.

Fang nodded.

"You three are the direct descendants of the original mages while Cosmo and his son are Earthia's prodigies… Even if all the "Kitsune's mates" in Emerald Hill Zone have been extinguished… Nature still found a way… Even if it took all those millenniums." It said.

"But… This negates everything you've been blabbering for two hours or so!!"

Fang seemed puzzled by this.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean… Naugus's prophecy that turns out to be true… My and my friends' roles… That Merlin guy and his love for Earthia that is so damn similar to what Cosmo and Tails shared… All of this can't be coincidental! It seems to me that everything has already been decided.. That concepts like "Life is Chaos" and "A world of endless possibilities" are totally wrong and… WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU SMIRKING AT ME!!!?" Cried the irate and utterly confused Dante.

Fang was, indeed, smirking. Knuckles was overcomplicating things, again… He was still too linked with his inner desire to find a precise reason in everything. It was a thing that Mobians learned from the humans… A thing that truly bothered a person like Fang, who lived all his life creating and recreating himself just like chaos energies do.

The specter fixed it's ectoplasm canvas hat on his vanishing head, before finally answering the doubtful traveler's question… In it's own way.

"Say… Knuckles, do you wanna know the history behind this scars?" It said while showing him it's infamous belly cuts.

Knuckles sighed. He clearly was not about to receive a straight answer...

"Yes… I wanna know the history behind the scars." He reluctantly said.

"I was just bored…" The phantom's straight response.

Knuckles rolled his cerulean eyes.

"Yeah… Sure."

He then looked the specter in the eyes. It was dead serious… No pun intended.

The dreadlocked warrior was speechless. Fang found the words for him.

"See, my friend? Sometimes the best explanations are the simplest…" It wisely uttered.

"What does that supposed to mean?"

"You will understand, eventually… Leave and Learn, Knuckles, Leave. And. Learn."

The echidna's confused expression hadn't changed.

"Well… I guess my time in this world has ran out." Suddenly stated the ghostly "Virgil". "I think that I'm gonna possess some unfortunate soul and make it kill it's own family… Or maybe I'm going to turn Buddhist and reincarnate myself into a Nepalese Chipmunk… Who knows? I'll just… Improvise!" Fang was now grinning madly, it's namesake tooth was perfectly visible… He glanced it's echidna companion in the eye and ultimately added: "When you'll see the Stars again, think of your Virgil… Farewell, oh Dante."

And then, the chaotic enigma once known as Fang the Sniper, disappeared right into the same place he first came from… Nothingness.

The baffled "Dante" of this journey just stared at the spot in which his peculiar guide used to be, before it's final departure… A hint of sadness and sympathy was visible in his facial features.

"I will… Thank you." He simply said before heading toward the exit… Willing to see the Stars again.

* * *

**Knothole Village. The Morgue.**

Maximillian Acorn should have been the happiest person in the world…

He managed to frame Geoffrey St. John and Antoine Depardieu for war crimes and kick them out of the Mobian Council's lodge. He's been able to found two immediate substitutes to put on their seats… Among all, he now had the key that could very well guarantee the final victory over the feared Eggman Empire… Not to mention taking back his rightful city. Ultimately, the ominous Roboticizer machines were currently unable to work…

Yet, Maximillian Acorn was NOT happy. The reason for his condition was lying on a stretcher right in front of his standing figure…

In this eternal rest, Sir Charles Hedgehog looked so serene. His robotizied corpse has been severely damaged and therefore, it was irreparable…

_**It's better this way.** _The chipmunk thought. _**He was a living being… When living beings die, they cannot be repaired... Only machines can.**_

He put an hand on his old friend's head and quietly muttered:

"Thanks for the help, old buddy."

Not a great farewell line… But emotional as well.

* * *

**Mobian Council's War Room.**

"So… You're back at your old occupation…"

Sally Acorn sighed.

"Yes… I had too. I'm sorry, Tails. I wish I could stay at home with you but…"

"But you're needed here, Sally." Interrupted her adopted son. "Your place is in the council, along side your father and… That Bunny Rabbot person… Gee, I still can't believe she had that chip for all this time!"

Sally smiled.

"Neither I… This has been the fastest exchange of ruling powers in the history of Mobius!"

Tails chuckled a little… Then he went serious.

"When we're going to attack?" He asked.

The squirrel lady took a deep breath. She knew he would have asked this question and she feared it with every fiber of her body… Even with the plants of Robotropolis's defense systems in their solid grasps, a direct assault at the city's outskirts with all the available military forces in their and G.U.N.'s arsenal, was still a daring and potentially backstabbing action… Many would have died and others would have been crippled for life!

She was a politician and an excellent strategist… But before any of these things, she was a mother that loved his only son with all her might and that was desperately trying to protect him from any harm…

She also realized that Tails was not a child… He may looked like one, he may happened to be under aged, but after everything he had endured in his almost 9 years of age, the war against Eggman, the Freedom Fighters, the death of his parents… Cosmo… And the fact that he was more intelligent than all the adult people Sally knew, combined… The vulpine was anything but a child.

He may secretely desired to be a normal 9 years old kid, he may desperately wanted to be cuddled and loved and have fun just like any kid should have… But the problem was, he was first of all a soldier, a fighter that had no afraid to put his life on the line in order to protect others' lives…

For this reason… Sally Acorn, the mother Sally Acorn not the cold blooded politician, hated herself for what she was about to say.

"Tails… We will attack at dawn… But you're not coming."

The distant coldness of her tone was the thing that surprised the fox the most… That and the effective meaning of her phrase.

"WHAAAAAAAAAT!!!?" The youthful kit cried in utter disbelief.

"I've talked to my father and… Although he's not agree with me… He would support my decision, anyway… I'm sorry."

She tried to caress Tails's three banged furry head but the vulpine put himself out of his mother's reach.

"Tails…" She began.

The two-tailed disappointed warrior looked down at his shoes, his features were visibly shaking and his fists were clenched tightly. He then raised his head and stared at the chipmunk girl with watery eyes.

Enraged, watery eyes.

She felt all of his hate in that lethal glare… And it broke her heart.

Her son hated her.

"Tails… Please… Talk to me." She begged.

There was only one thing worse than his angry gaze and it was his silence… His unnerving, judging silence.

Sally was on the verge of tears. Her voice trembled.

"T-Tails, hun… I l-love y-you…" She tried to say through her sobbing hiccups.

He didn't mutter a single word, he just turned his back to her and slowly exited the hut… Almost tiptoeing in the process as if ready to explode in any second.

Sally Acorn, the loving mother who just did what she thought was the best for her son… Found herself alone and desperate…

And without a son.

She cried her eyes out.

* * *

**Somewhere around Knothole.**

He was running… It's what he does best, after all. He had that reputation and that lifestyle… It didn't matter the recent or past events that troubled his life… He wasn't the type of hedgehog who lived in the past, he would have always look ahead of him…

And right now, his enhanced mechanical eyes captivated the un-mistakable silhouette of a very appreciable member of the opposite sex.

"Subject: Chick! Priority One: Engage and seduce… Way past!" He jokingly said with his momentarily adopted robotic voice, right before darting toward his target's direction.

* * *

Bunny Rabbot set on a solitary rock in the middle of a daisy field… One of the few in the Great Forest.

It has been a very twisting day for the simple southern girl… First, she apprehended of his long time savior's dead and his legacy… Then she discovered to be the unwilling possessor of a microchip that could determine the result of the entire war… And finally, she's been named an honorary member of the Mobian Council itself!

That was a little too much for her. She wasn't the commanding type, she was just a sweet little girl with three robotizied appendages and expert fighting skills… Definitely not a politician.

She felt awkward and over all scared. She wished for her best friend and leader, Tikal, to be there for support…

She caressed her broken ear in a worried manner… Not noticing that someone found it extremely sexy.

"Ehi there, hot stuff! What are ya doing out here? Making the little animals to faint with your stunning beauty?" A sudden male voice stated.

She quickly turned her head to see her unexpected visitor.

It was a cobalt blue hedgehog with long downward head and back quills… And, to her surprise, he had a mechanical arm.

"Mmmh… Who are ya, sugahog?" Said the Rabbit in a very polite and, of course, sexy way.

To the robotic hedgehog's point of view, Bunny Rabbot was The Female.

She had a slender physic with all the curves in the right place and rather generous breasts… All covered by a pink top that matched her beautiful violet eyes… And then, there were those mechanical appendages, her left arm and two legs. The hedgehog was entirely robotizied therefore he didn't even noticed or mind about the defecting limbs.

Ultimately… That cute nickname she used, "Sugahog", almost made him jump on clichéd fluffy clouds in the sky.

"Hello?" Asked again the Robian of his dreams.

Sonic's face was locked in the proverbial "I love you - marry me" expression… A very dumb expression, indeed.

Suddenly, Sonic's brain kicked in and resumed it's proper functionality.

"Uh… OH! Who am I? I'm ehrrrrrr…" For the first time in his illustrious mondo cool hero career, Sonic was failing in the one thing he did best beside running… His introduction!

Luckily for him, Bunny didn't need to know his name for recognize him.

She used to dream about him… He was exactly how she remembered him to be.

The blue prince with quills.

Her face went bright. She put her natural hand on her own mouth in amazement. She started staring at him… And he stared her back.

The lightning has stroke again.

Love at first sight… Something that has always defied Rationality. Something that happens without a reason.

Love is Chaos… I think we can ALL agree about this.

Slowly but gingerly, the half-robot Robian Rabbot rabbit (that's a good tongue twist), approached the seemingly frozen hedgehog. They were now, nose to nose.

She spoke first.

"Hya… M-ma name's B-Bunny Rabbot… What's yours, sugahog?" She timidly asked.

The male blinked and muttered back.

"I'm uuuuh… Sonic." He answered.

They stood in silence for a while, trapped in each other's eyes. After a few minutes of sacral contemplation, the blue prince now known as "Sir Runs-A-Lot" decided to broke the silence.

"Say… Wanna go for a run?"

"Sure."

And the two lover birds, or lover rodents if you will, darted toward the heart of the forest without hesitation.

And for the rest of the day, Bunny completely forgot about her problems.

* * *

**Mystic Ruins. F.F. base.**

The purple chameleon better known as Espio or "Silent Bob" as Sonic used to call him, was holding in his hand a random piece of paper that a certain two-tailed youth he knew, left on the living room's couch.

By looking into his facial features, one could say that what was written on that note, didn't please him at all.

_**Me and Amy have gone to South Island. No time to explain.**_

_**Tails.**_

Needless to say, the lethal ninja had a bad feeling about the whole situation… He couldn't know it but his feeling had already proved to be true.

The silent warrior has been quite busy over the last few weeks… The so-called "Chaosdamned Emeralds' Fever" as Knuckles dubbed it, didn't spare the poor reptile, who decided to start a quest of his own… Failing miserably.

There definitely wasn't any Chaos Emerald in the various jewels shops he had "visited"… There were lots of cops, though.

Right now, he just wanted to relax and enjoy the rest of the day in absolute silence.

In the exact same second his rear end reached the comfortable sofa… A sadly familiar, obnoxious, loud and girly voice found it's scrapping way through the chameleon hearing system.

Amy Rose entered the base, more dancing, happy and disgracefully joyful than ever.

"HI ESPIO!!!" She cried. "This has been the best day of my life!"

She then started singing some incomprehensible songs about love and other stuff.

A particularly distressed Espio seriously considered hara-kiri for a few minutes.

"Oh! By the way, if you're looking for Sonic and Tails… I guess they're in Knothole, now!" She managed to say through the lyrics.

The reptile's head stood up right in great interest, probably asking himself "why the hell did they go to Knothole of all places… Perhaps, I'm missing something important."

Without a second thought, he grabbed the spaced out pink hedgehog's hand and rushed out from the base along with the now screaming girl.

* * *

**Somewhere.**

"Are you sure it will work?" Preoccupation was perceivable in her feline yellow eyes.

"This plan can't fail… All we have to do is fight them. The raw energy that our encounter will generate is going to cause the seal's break down and release my master."

Her companion, on the other hand, was the portrait of self-confidence.

She was still doubtful about this whole thing… Most of all, she didn't like the idea of fighting her old comrades.

The black eyed boy noticed her discomfort and decided to do something about it.

"Blaze…" He started while tenderly caressing her cheek. "… Do you trust me?" He said while showing a reassuring smile.

She sighed and grabbed his hand… It never bothered her the strange form of his appendages… She liked them, just the way she not so secretely liked him.

"Void, it's not that I don't trust you… I would entrust my own life to you and I've already done it before… It's your 'father' I don't trust. What do you really know about him?" She asked.

The plant boy thought about this for a minute or so… It was a very good question.

"The only thing I know is that he's the one who took me under his wing when no one else's would do." He quietly answered.

"Some one else would have… But I guess we'll never know it, right?" She wisely replied.

Naturally, he knew what the blazing princess was talking about… Or better, who.

"Blaze, for the umpteenth time… Miles "Tails" Prower is NOT my father!" He muttered in annoyance.

She crossed her arms and stared at him with her legendary creepy "cat glare". Even the teen Seedrian wasn't immune at her judging gaze.

"Don't look at me like that! He can't be my father! It doesn't matter if he loved my mother and planted her seed, allowing my birth… It doesn't even matter if we happen to have some similarities like… Like this red / white sneakers I'm wearing!" He declared while pointing his three-fingered hands at his shoes. "He cannot be my father, Blaze… He's younger than me, for Chaos' Sake!"

At this, Blaze put on a smirk.

"I wouldn't be so sure… By the looks of it, he's the mature one… And you, the childish one." She giggled.

"EHI! I'M NOT CHILDISH!!!" He yelled while stomping his feet on the ground.

The cat girl chuckled within herself.

_**Yep. They're definitely similar… **_She thought.

"Have I interrupted anything?" Said a foreign voice.

Both Void and Blaze turned to see their third comrade holding a white emerald in his hand.

"So… You've find the last Chaos Emerald, Shadow." Void resumed his seriousness.

The black and red hedgehog grinned.

"Indeed I have… Among other things." His mind wandered on a certain tender moment he and the pink hedgehog have shared, right before bringing her back to the base.

Void put on a face.

"I don't want to know." He simply said.

He then made a rapid calculation in his head.

"Let's see… With this one, we currently got four emeralds, Sonic and Tails have two and, for what Naugus told me, Knuckles have one as well... That means that all the pieces are in place! We shall begin…"

"How do we start?" Asked a genuinely curious Blaze.

The bushy-haired plant boy smiled.

"By launching the challenge, of course!" He solemnly uttered.

"Whatever… You're daddy still have to maintain his end of the bargain!" Shadow reminded him.

* * *

_**And I will, Shadow… Don't you worry about that! Ixis Naugus always keeps his promises…**_

_**Eheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheh…**_


	7. Chapter 7

**7.**

_**Tails was having that gruesome dream again… **_

_**His psychotic reflex, holding an axe, apparently ready to slice him in half.**_

_**Although, now that that frightened vulpine thought about it… There were some peculiar differences… **_

_**Instead of it's usual evil, maniacal face, his murderous twin had a suspiciously joyful and idiotic expression… And it was also wearing a strange woodcutter outfit!**_

**"_What the…" Before Tails could even finish the phrase… _**

_**It's reflex started… To sing!?**_

**_"Oh, I'm a Lumberjack and I'm okay,_**

_**I sleep all night and I work all day!"**_

_**Suddenly, a whole bunch of other Tails's clones, dressed like Mounties this time, came out of nowhere and sang in chorus:**_

**_"He's a Lumberjack and he's okay,_**

_**He sleeps all night and he works all day!"**_

_**Then the woodcutter Tails continued while randomly swinging his axe around.**_

**_"I cut down trees, I eat my lunch,_**

_**I go the lava-try.**_

_**On Wednesday I go shoppin'**_

_**And have buttered scones for tea!"**_

_**And then again, the Mounties chorus:**_

**_"He cuts down trees, he eats his lunch,_**

_**He goes to the lava-try.**_

_**On Wednesday he goes shoppin'**_

_**And have buttered scones for tea!"**_

_**They went on and on for a while… Until they all got tread on by a giant human feet.**_

**"_Weird… The song was hearable, though." Commented the baffled Kitsune._**

**"_Gee… You're mind is a total mess!"_**

_**Tails slowly turned to fix his blue eyed gaze over the intruder. He smiled when he recognized his unwilling "son".**_

**"_Hi Void… What can I do for you?" Asked the suddenly paternal kit._**

_**The Seedrian didn't like his tone… It made him feel like a baby boy.**_

**"_Don't talk to me like that…" He sorely replied._**

_**The two-tailed would be daddy, smirked… He owned the plant boy.**_

**"_So… Have you asked Naugus yet?" He changed the topic._**

_**The black eyed boy crossed his arms in an "I'm all business" kind of pose. The fox could see himself in him…**_

**"_I did ask Naugus about my mother…" The Seedrian said._**

**"_Aaaaannnnnd…" _**

**"_He showed her to me."_**

_**The fox's eyes widen. He wasn't expecting that answer…**_

**"_WHAT!?" The surprised kit yelled in amazement._**

_**He couldn't believed that the sorcerer did just show Cosmo to her son without even trying to avoid the question…**_

_**Void noticed the Mobian's reaction and grinned mischievously… He could finally get it back to his "daddy".**_

**"_Yes… And I tell you what, she's alive thanks to the master!" He proudly added._**

_**Another shot into Tails's lower parts. He was wide-eyed and speechless.**_

_**Void laughed internally, then he went serious again… Just in the way his two-tailed interlocutor used to do.**_

**"_But when she Chaos Controlled herself and that rocket away… She broke the time and space rift… And in doing so, she sacrificed her own life force." Sadness was visible in his empty eyes. "… If Naugus wouldn't have frozen her body, she would have died because of the accelerate aging process!" He concluded._**

_**The foxy kid took a minute for letting those informations to sink inside of his enhanced brain.**_

_**He could clearly remembered that day. He would have never forgotten it. **_

_**When his beloved one, Cosmo, put herself between the deadly weapon known as "Project: Doomsday", and himself… Her body started to change…To grow.**_

_**As the boy genius he used to be, he'd heard everything about the possible existence of other dimensions and the theory that each and everyone of them had their own physical laws… Including time and space.**_

_**When Cosmo teleported herself and the nuke into another plan… Her contact with a different reality had a tragic effect on her own natural timeline allowing the aforementioned accelerate aging process.**_

_**That has been the price she paid for saving this undeserving planet from certain annihilation.**_

_**Tails recomposed himself into a decent form, before asking a very important question to Cosmo's prodigy.**_

**"_How… How is she?" He had to ask it, he would have died with grief, otherwise._**

_**Void tried to think at the proper words to describe her.**_

**"_She's beautiful… She's perfect…" Then he frowned. "… She looks as young as you are." He said, hinting his obvious frustration. He was the only teen who's parents were younger than him, after all._**

_**Tails, on the other hand, was the portrait of solar happiness. **_

_**So, Cosmo was back at her usual youthful aspect, just like he used to see her in his dreams… He then abruptly turned thoughtful again. **_

**"_That Naugus is more powerful than I've imagined." He muttered under his breath._**

**"_What you say?" Asked Void._**

**"_You have no chance to survive… Make your time. HA HA HA!!" Answered a sudden robotic voiced Tails._**

**"_What the fichus was that!?"_**

**"_Ehm… Sorry, my hyperactive mind tricked me again…" The vulpine scratched the back of his head in the classical embarrassed manner. "You still didn't tell me the real reason behind your intrusion into my head!" He added, adopting a smartass expression._**

**"_All the Chaos Emeralds have been collected. We already own four emeralds and I'm well aware that you have three!"_**

_**Tails looked a little baffled at this.**_

**"_No… Me and Sonic only have two!" He corrected._**

**"_Don't play games with me… I know your echidna companion have one of his own!"_**

_**Tails smiled a satisfied smile.**_

**"_So… Knuckles collected one, uh? I didn't know about it… Thanks for the information, sonny!" _**

_**Void realized his mistake.**_

**"_D'HO!!!" He yelled while smashing one of his clawed hands on his forehead._**

_**Tails crossed his arms. His grinning facial features had the line "father knows best" written on it.**_

_**The distressed teenage plant resumed his composure.**_

**"_Look, I want to challenge you and your two quill-headed friends in a fight for the emeralds! Winner takes all!" He bluntly stated, finally getting to the point._**

_**Tails seemed to frown a little. He didn't really want to fight his son… And he was quite sure of the fact that neither him wanted… **_

_**But he couldn't allow Ixis Naugus to be freed, therefore he had no choice.**_

**"_I… Accept!" He confidently replied._**

**"_Very well… Let us meet on Angel Island at dawn. You'll have to figure how to come! Farewell…" And the void eyed one just disappeared._**

**"_Angel Island, eh? Mmmh…" Before the kit could even finish his mumbling… His woodcutter clone came back and resume his song!_**

**_"Oh, I'm a lumberjack and I'm okay_**

_**I sleep all night and I work all day!"**_

_**The chorus of Mounties followed suit.**_

**_"He's a lumberjack and he's okay_**

_**He sleeps all night and he works all day!"**_

_**Tails had an idea and he decided to join the song as well.**_

**_"I have a question for all of you,_**

_**To reach this Angel island**_

_**Tell me how to do!"**_

_**Again, the chorus.**_

**_"He has a question for all of us,_**

_**To reach this Angel island**_

_**We will tell you how to do!"**_

_**The woodcutter's turn.**_

**_"You need two gems, you need a friend,_**

_**Then all you have to do is to wish to go there!"**_

_**The chorus.**_

**_"He needs two gems, he needs a friend,_**

_**Then all he has to do is to wish to go there!"**_

_**Tails went in.**_

**_"I thank you guys, you're really cool,_**

_**Your suggestion I will follow suit!"**_

_**Again, the chorus.**_

**_"He thanks us guys, we're really cool_**

_**Our suggestion he will follow suit!"**_

_**And then… Everybody sang together for the grand finale.**_

**"_Oh, I'm a foxy fox and I'm so smart,_**

_**I fight the evil and I kick butt!"**_

**"_He's a foxy fox and he's so smart,_**

_**He fights the evil and he kicks butt!"**_

**"_I build some planes, I fly away_**

_**I go to save the world.**_

_**The 7 Chaos Emeralds I will retrieve**_

_**And then, I shall see my Love!"**_

**"_He builds some planes, He flies away_**

_**He goes to save the world.**_

_**The 7 Chaos Emeralds he will retrieve**_

_**And then…**_

_**He shall see…**_

_**HIS LOOOOOOOVE!!!"**_

_**The song was over… And so was the dream.**_

"Wow… That was the weirdest dream yet… And I wasn't even into it!"

Her reptile companion motioned her to wake up, they still had a long road ahead… And they left the base only 10 minutes ago!

"Ok, ok, I'm coming…" Reluctantly muttered the pink hedgehog known as Amy.

* * *

**Westopolis ruins.**

**05:30 pm**

It has been hard.

It has been very hard for her to deal with her sin… Not just because of the physical act itself but also because of the emotion she felt, the feeling she endured… She loved him.

She loved him with every fiber of her being. She didn't know the exact moment of when it happened… She didn't know if it was before, during or even after the sinful yet, indispensable act.

All she knew was that, in her mind, Knuckles was a brother no more… He was the father of her unborn child… And now, he would hate her for the rest of his life.

Incest… The extreme solution for saving the species… For avoiding extinction. She did what she did, because she thought it was necessary. Now she knew, it's been a mistake.

She felt so bad not because of the thing itself… But because, when she did so, she negated herself and, more importantly, she negated her sibling, the fundamental emotion that such activity should summon…

Consensual Love.

She had forced him to do it, he didn't want to… She poisoned him, ignoring his protests, ignoring his pleads.

She practically raped him.

She humiliated him… She played with his pride and emotions… She betrayed her only family… And from that, there was no come back.

The orange echidna girl was caressing her belly, already trying to imagine what a mother could feel. This unborn child was her only consolation over this whole gruesome situation. She would have loved it, protected it, fought for it…

A single tear came out from one of her beautiful blue eyes. She still wished for it's unwilling father to be there… With his family… With her.

Naturally, that wouldn't be possible, not only for the previous reasons but also because of his unexpected journey on a certain magically hidden island…

Not so long ago, she had this dream… An old looking echidna told her to "open the way for the red one, to the mystic land of Chaos", that's precisely what he said. At first, she was left baffled and confused by such riddle… But then, she finally understood who the "Red One" really was…

That's why she used her innate magic on that Chaos Emerald she casually found when she was very young… That's why she sent her brother on that legendary place she, somehow, knew it existed.

She hoped that, once above in the clouds, Knuckles would have found the proper knowledge he needed… And peace as well.

"Mistress Tikal?" A rather tall ram said after entering her tent.

The chosen conducer of "The Wrath of Mobius", dried her tear and then turned to face her loyal subject.

"What it is, Ari?" Said Tikal the Echidna while masking her deepest emotions with the solid charisma and the determination that every good leader should have.

"The messenger has arrived." Ari's simple reply.

His mistress's face lighted up.

"Show me…"

The Mobian ram gave to the young echidna a very peculiar device… It resembled a chao, if seen from the proper distance, but in reality, the little flying being was anything but it.

It was a mechanical puppet, a flying robot built from the best scientists in Mobius, it's similarity with those famous and innocuous imp like creatures was purposely studied for tricking the enemy.

This implanted ability, along with it's flying, had made it the perfect war messenger. The communications between Tikal's army and Maximillian Acorn have been possible thanks to the little toy she was now holding tightly in her hand.

She pressed a button on it's head and it started speaking.

"While running, press the circle button to slide!" It said with it's amazingly obnoxious voice.

"Stupid little hunk of junk… WORK!!!" The Mayan dressed echidna was always short-tempered with technologic devices… A thing that she had in common with a certain someone she was related with.

As if sensing the danger, the metallic imp decided to cooperate. The authoritarian voice of Sir Acorn himself came out of it.

"Tikal… We attack at dawn!" Simple, effective and right to the point.

The now focused glare of the echidna fixed itself over her subject, who almost shivered.

"Ari…"

"Yes mistress?"

"The time has come… Gather the troops, we're moving now!!"

She would fight for her child… And now, she could prove it.

* * *

**Somewhere.**

**10:30 pm.**

"So… Let me get this straight… We have to go to this Angel Island place, battle that plant guy who beat the hell out you and, if we win, we can have all the emeralds, right?"

"Yep…"

"… And a bunch of foxy like Mounties told you how to reach this flying land…"

"Yep…"

"… While singing about a lumberjack…"

"Uh-uhu…"

"… In your dreams."

"Precisely."

"… Dude, that's mondo weirdo even for me!"

"I know… But we have to do it anyway… Even without Knuckles."

"Ehe! Good old Knuckle-head is gonna miss the party!"

"Sonic… I'm going to fight the son of the only person I've ever loved… I'm like his father! It's definitely not going to be a party for me!"

Sonic looked his two-tailed younger buddy with a puzzled gaze.

"Tails… What you just said sounded wrong in so many ways I can't count… You're a two-tailed fox kid who's not even 10 and you're a father of a teenage plant?"

"Well…"

"And by the way… I really would like ta know who his mama was!"

Tails lowered his head in shame.

In the short period he and Sonic have been together, they used to share almost everything… However, the vulpine has always been reluctant about a certain argument… About talking of her… But he understood that, in order for his hedgehog friend to trust him, he had to tell him everything he knew about this whole awkward situation.

The kit looked up at Sonic, again. His light blue eyes were showing extreme discomfort as he realized that he had never, not even one time, openly talked about Cosmo before.

He took a very hard breath, dismissing his doubts, before opening his mouth…

He spitted out everything… About Cosmo, her life, death, the fact that she was not dead… The ominous Project: Doomsday and her sacrifice… Void and his relation with him… Everything.

45 long minutes later, the tale was finally over.

Despite being the carefree creature he was… The telling of such events almost didn't let him to breath or to blink… Which were things that he obviously didn't need to do since he was a robot. None the less, the story did have an effect on him.

His beeping brain was experiencing a very disturbing gamma of feelings.

All the blue wonder could do… Was whistle.

"Wow… Lil' buddy, I had no idea…" He tried to mutter.

"It's okay… Really." But of course it wasn't.

Seeing his friend's condition, Sonic did the only thing he would do when it came to cheer up people… He became over enthusiastic.

"Come on, big guy! Let's go there, kick some mondo nasty butt, get the treasure, save the princess and live sonically ever after!" He declared while raising his fist into the sky in the classical "Hell yeah" pose.

Amazingly enough, that seemed to work on the kit who, by now, had adopted his trademark determined look.

"Yeah, you're right… Let's do it, Sonic!"

"No, no, no, my main fox…" He corrected. "Let's do it… TO IT!!!"

* * *

**Outskirts of the Mystic Ruins.**

**06:00 pm**

"Do you realize that, at this rate, we will never reach Knothole before the end of this solar year?" A very scornful Amy Rose complained.

His fellow Freedom Fighter and trip companion was desperately trying to resist the urge of stabbing her neck with a poisoned dagger… But she was right, getting to Knothole by bare feet hasn't been his greatest idea yet. It definitely hasn't.

Luckily for them, someone decided to come in their aid.

His enhanced ninja hearing let Espio to sense the un-mistakable noise of a vehicle in the immediate vicinities.

As if on cue, the aforementioned vehicle arrived and stopped itself on the left side of the two Mobians.

It was an hovercraft, and by the looks of it, a very fast model too!

"Ehi, you're Freedom Fighters, right? Where are you going?" Asked the walrus on the driving seat.

"Knothole!" responded Amy… Obviously it didn't come out from Espio's mouth.

"Ehi, me too. I'll give you a passage, then!"

"Thank you, Mr…"

"Rotor!"

"Thanks a lot, Mr Rotor!"

She and her utter thankful chameleon companion put their tired selves on the hovercraft's comfortable seats.

"You two are going to join the army, right? Me too!" Suddenly said Rotor while driving away.

"Excuse me?" Went the puzzled pink hedgehog.

"Yeah… You know? The final assault over Robotropolis thing? All the G.U.N. and Mobian forces united against the Eggman Empire? The attack at dawn? It's on every TV news… Don't cha have a TV?" He casually asked.

If undeniable bewilderment was a living being, it would have had the features of an horrible half-hedgehog, half-chameleon like creature… Because, in the exact same moment in which the two of them heard the astonishing news from their driver's mouth… They both yelled a mastodon like scream in utter surprise like if they have been a unique individual.

A very loud "WHAT!!?" could have been heard in all of Mobius while a certain unfortunate walrus almost had an accident due to his suddenly damaged ears.

* * *

**Somewhere.**

**11:00 pm**

"Ya know, I trust you and all… But are you sure it's going ta be that easy? Coming to this place, I mean?"

"Would you doubt the word of a bunch of singing Mounties and a woodcutter?"

"Mmmh, good point. Those people never gets wrong!"

"Indeed."

"…. Tails?"

"Yeah, Sonic?"

"I'm not usually the responsible guy around here…"

"Oh really? I didn't notice…" Sarcasm was evident in the kit's tone.

"… But are you sure that living Knothole without telling anybody (especially your very hot mommy) was a good idea?" Sonic almost scolded.

Tails put on a face.

"Ok, first of all, stay veeeeeeeeery away from Sally, I'm warning you! Secondly, in Knothole, they're all too busy preparing for the assault for noticing our sudden disappearing… Or for stopping us, for that matter." He paused for a second and looked Sonic dead in the eyes. "Plus, this is too important… Not only for me, but for the course of the conflict itself. With the full power of the Chaos Emeralds in our hands, we'll be able to destroy Eggman once anf for all!" Tails declared with a hint of glee in his gaze.

Sonic weakly smiled at him.

"Ehe… Now that I think about it… I have personal issues in this thing, too!"

"What do you… Ooooh, yeah! Shadow, isn't it?"

"Yep… And his brother, Mephiles… My sons." Muttered the now frowned hedgehog.

Tails emitted a sigh as well.

"I still find it hard to believe… This whole 'cloning' thing…"

"I met them, you know?"

The vulpine's features showed genuine surprise toward his friend's sentence.

"What? When?"

"Right before coming to South Island… In the forest. Shadow approached me and attacked me for no apparent reason and I had to retaliate… We fought for a while and found out that we were evenly matched. Then he told me that he and his bro. were sons of mine…" Sonic smirked his trademark smirk. "… Can ya imagine my mondo stupore at those news?"

Tails scratched his head in the typical confused manner.

"And then what happened?"

"Nothing… He swore to kill me for proving to be the 'True Ultimate Life Form'! Those were his exact words. Then he just left." Concluded Sonic.

"Ehe… It's Shadow alright!" Giggled the fox.

"So… It's family business for the both of us, uh?"

"You could say that."

They paused for a second, looking down at their own shoes, seemingly depressed.

"Tails?"

"What?"

"Do you think… Shadow and I… look alike?"

"Absolutely NOT! You two have nothing in common… Not only your personalities but even your appearances are completely opposite! I mean, you're cobalt blue and he's black with red stripes… You have downward quills, he's got pointed quills… Even your eyes are different, not to mention the attire! Now, I haven't seen this Mephiles guy yet but if he looks like his twin, then he too got nothing to share with your aspect… Seriously, Sonic, even a blind person could notice the difference!"

"Yeah, you're right! There's no way people are gonna mistake Shadow for me!"

* * *

"Strange… My ears are whistling."

**"_Somebody's thinking of you, brother… By the way, is it my impression or you and our father look alike?"_**

"Shut up, Mephiles!"

* * *

**Knothole Village. The gate.**

**08:30 pm**

"You. Can. Not. Pass!" Ordered a certain bald and furless hedgehog who happened to be the unlucky guardian of the Knothole gate.

Espio looked at him.

Manic looked at Espio…

Then he screamed in pain… Big surprise!

"Espio, that wasn't nice of you!" Amy stated.

"Aw, it's not that bad… A little brain commotion never killed anybody… I'm more worried about his tongue, though… Gee, I didn't think it could be pulled out in that way! Amazing!" Added the enthusiastic Rotor.

Espio just hmpfed. After the last few weeks he had developed a certain disdain over hedgehogs… One could easily imagine why.

Once the three of them entered the city, confusion and utter mess greeted them… Soldiers, guards and militant Freedom Fighters alike were running all around the place, desperately trying to organize themselves into a decent army.

This spectacle was the confirmation the female hedgehog and the purple reptile needed… They were preparing themselves for a war.

"Mmmh… I wonder where is the subscription point?" The walrus that has been their driver and unexpected companion, asked to no one in particular.

The answer came from the less than comprehensible voice of a very unfortunate guard.

"Fou fust foofing fov fe fenfval fut… Ofer fere!" Said the tongue twisted Manic while slipping quite miserably on the ground.

Rotor's puzzled expression turned over Amy's.

"What did he say?"

"I think he's trying to say that the subscription point is in the central hut… Over there!" She said while pointing her arm beyond the mass of people. "Am I right?" She sweetly asked to the bald, furless and now tongue twisted, hedgehog.

He nodded… Right before fainting because of the excruciating pain.

"Ehi, thanks bud!" Rotor cheered out.

He started to walk over the questioned point… He then stopped on his track and turned his head over the other two.

"You're coming or what?" He said.

Both Espio and Amy looked each other in the eyes for a few seconds… Then nodded in unison.

Amy returned her gaze over the walrus and solemnly uttered:

"We've been waiting for this moment our entire life… The moment in which we could finally put an end on this conflict…" Pure determination and will was present in her body language. "Of course we're coming!" She ultimately added.

Espio closed his eyes and smiled… His obnoxious friend had matured so much over the past years. He still remembered the day he found her… Nearby that burnt orphanage.

* * *

**_She was a littl__e scared kid with nobody in the whole world… She was dirty and over all shocked. She stared at him with her big, pleading eyes, silently begging for help… For someone to save her from her sad excuse of a life._**

_**On that night, Eggman's SWATBots came… She was the sole survivor… She had luck.**_

_**At the time, Espio was already a solitarian wolf… A silent one, for that matter. He'd already suffered the demise of his comradeship, his family, by the hands of all those Badniks…**_

_**Those robotizied children.**_

_**It didn't took long for the chameleon to imagine what has been the tragic fate of all those kids in the orphanage… The only thought made his own spine to shiver.**_

_**The little kid in front of him had no idea just how lucky she's been.**_

_**She was still staring at him… Still pleading… Still crying for help.**_

_**Espio's cold heart softened… **_

_**Despite his fears… Despite the fact that he feared bonding with someone else after what he'd endured… He took her under his protective wing.**_

_**From that day on, they've always been together… He would also trained her… He would even understand her troubled feelings…**_

_**What he, however, would never understand, was where the heck she would hide that gigantic hammer of hers!**_

_**Later on, they both joined the Militia. The rest was history…**_

* * *

"Espio? Are you coming or what?" Asked the impatient Amy.

Espio exited from his deep thoughts and looked back at the pink hedgehog. He was so proud of her… If he could, he would have certainly said:

"Let's do it, together… Sister."

* * *

**Somewhere.**

**00:00 pm**

"Shall we?" Sonic asked.

"Let's!" Tails confirmed.

They both raised their respective Chaos Emeralds and yelled in unison:

"CHAOS CONTROL!!!"

* * *

**Knothole Village. Guest's hut.**

**09:30 pm**

"Tails? Tails, it's me, Sally… Please, open up!" She was practically pleading at her son's door… Only to find it open.

Sally entered the hut and, to her distasteful fear, she found it empty.

There was a note on Tails's supposed bed. She picked it up and red it.

_**Dear Sally.**_

_**First of all, I would like to say that I'm not angry with you… I couldn't understand why you did that to me… But now I can… You were just worried about me.**_

_**We've been through a lot together, hadn't we? At first, we've been friends… Then we became like brothers… And, in the end, we officially became a family… When you adopted me.**_

_**You've always loved me like a son, didn't you? You wanted me to be yours, right? I don't blame you for that… As a matter of fact, I'm honored that a beautiful and caring person like you wished to be the mother of someone like me… I've been quite a difficult kid, uh? I'm sorry for making your life so hard… And I'm also sorry that you had to drop your career for me! To be perfectly honest, I'm sorry for a lot of things… Too much for a single letter… But most of all, I'm sorry for never calling you mum. Deep down I knew that you wanted it and I also considered you to be my mother… Especially after the death of my parents.**_

_**Oh, wait… That's a terrible thing to write. Once again, I'm sorry…**_

_**Sally… There's something me and Sonic must do… It is dangerous and I cannot guarantee my survival… But we have to do it. I wish I could explain it to you… I wish I could tell you everything that happened during this twisted weeks… Instead, I'm going to tell you that, if we will succeed… All the wars, the conflicts, the deaths… Are gonna end, once and for all. We almost have gathered all the Chaos Emeralds together and we can't stop now…**_

_**I wish you luck with the impending assault and I also wish to see you alive when I come back…**_

_**If… I come back.**_

_**I love you, Sally…**_

_**I love you… Mother.**_

_**Tails.**_

_**P.S. Isn't Sonic a total jerk, sometimes?**_

* * *

And the broken hearted, loving mother fell to the floor, crying like if there wasn't a tomorrow…

By the looks of it, it could very well be the case.

"You're right, hun… Your blue friend can be a real pain." She managed to say through the tears… She even smiled.

A fake smile. A suffering smile. A tearful smile. A smile, none the less.

"Be okay, Tails… My son… Be okay and return to me. I swear I will survive this battle just for you…" She then stood up and dried her tears. "… Just for you!" She repeated, more determined this time.

With that said, she exited the hut… She had a war to be prepared for!

* * *

**Angel Island.**

**05:00 am.**

"It's almost dawn…" Void muttered. He turned to her loyal companion and added: "Naugus informed me that Knuckles is already on this island… How he managed to come here before us, it slips from my understandings!"

Blaze looked him back. Her gaze was depicted with feline seriousness.

"I'll take him…" She said.

The Seedrian stared at her gorgeous eyes, almost melting in them… From his expression, the cat could guess he was deadly worried about her wellbeing.

"Be careful…" He managed to reply.

"I will."

She kissed him on the cheek, making his light grey cheek turn blood red by the sudden blush.

She giggled.

And then, she darted away.

* * *

**Outskirts of Robotropolis.**

**05:30 am.**

It was quite the sight… The army.

There were several thousands between Freedom Fighters armed with white weaponry… Knothole elite soldiers equipped with their usual electrified spears… The infamous group known as "The Wrath of Mobius", with their human arsenal and ammunitions… And some random last minute warrior… Like a certain young hedgehog girl, a reptile ninja and a goof looking walrus.

All the soldiers were wearing a special outfit purposely made for protecting their vital organs during close quarters combats, an armor made of some resilient yet, light weighted metal.

The same material Eggman utilized to build his SWATBots. During it's past victories over the empire, the resistance has been able to collect plenty of it from the various robotic corpses… And now, such technology would have backstabbed the good old doctor.

Amy felt rather uncomfortable inside that vest… Most of all, she looked less confident than before. Espio, who was on her left, noticed it and he managed to reassure her with his granite like stare… After all those years they've been together, she knew that that was the closest thing to a gentle word that could come out from her reptile brother…

She just rolled her eyes in fake annoyance.

Rotor, on the other hand, was over enthusiastic… Just like a kamikaze before exploding…

It was creepy.

On "The Wrath of Mobius" side, all it's warriors looked absolutely fanatic and ready to die for their ideal, if necessary.

Bean, the green unstable duck, was holding his beloved cartoon like bombs, ready to calmly explain to his enemies, the reason of why he's been dubbed "Bean the Dynamite".

Bark the Polar Bear had his shot-gun… And that made him happy.

Scourge, the badass looking, scarred hedgehog, had a not so secret passion for Ingram machine guns… He was grinning like a vampire before a feast of young virgins… Let's leave it at that..

Ari the Ram, the most balanced of the entire army, had a Bazooka.

The Nasty Hyenas had their own set of weapons as well… Along with the animalistic urge to ululate at the moon.

In front of them all, stood their leader… Tikal the Echidna. She was wearing a different version of her average outfit, she was dressed like a warrior princess from ancient Greek mythology and she had a sword bigger than herself was!

Along side the mighty God of War lady was her best soldier and friend, current honorary member of the Mobian Council, Bunny Rabbot. She didn't relied on weapons… After all, with her robotizied limbs, she was a weapon per se.

The two friends looked each other in the eyes and put on a friendly smile of approval. A very anti-climatic scene considering their un-friendly attire.

Ultimately, on the Freedom Fighters and Knothole elite's side…

Former king, Maximillian Acorn, and his daughter, Sally Acorn, stood tall on the short cliff from which the ominous city of Robotropolis could be seen…

A dark, dead mass of black and thunders… That's how the once flourishing reign of Mobotropolis looked at the moment.

Max's heart skipped a beat. It was hard for him to look at what his beautiful kingdom had became… But it also gave him the strength and will to correct this mistake for good!

He and Sally were wearing the classical military vest of the Acorns. A golden armor with a feathered helmet.

Suddenly… The sun timidly rose from behind Robotropolis, creating a contrasting effect… An immense marvel, partially covered by a greater horror.

The old chipmunk looked his daughter in the eyes, she nodded in response, then he raised the arm that was holding his loyal sword, preparing to order the attack.

The strategy was simple yet, effective. All they had to do, was to keep Eggman's robots occupied while G.U.N.'s army, on the south-west part of the city would have to attack and destroy the shields and security systems that kept the city virtually impregnable.

Thanks to Bunny's microchip… And ultimately, thanks to Snively… That was finally possible.

The un-mistakable silhouettes of thousands of STEALTHBots and SWATBots were already heading in their direction.

Maximillian Acorn ordered the attack.

His army cried it to all the others.

Tikal, Bunny and the rest of their group, braced themselves.

Amy hold her hammer tightly, Espio had his shurikens ready and Rotor had… A mighty wrench.

And so…

The war began.


	8. Chapter 8

**8.**

**Angel Island.**

**05:30**

From the amazing heights of the floating land, the dawn looked so majestic. The sun rising from the thick puffy clouds was definitely a spectacle to behold… So calm, so peaceful and dreadful at the same time. It was the birth of a new day… A new day with many more to follow or the very last one for this world.

Everything would have been decided in those fateful 24 hours, the course of a decade of war, the life or the death of millions of people, Mobian or human alike, and the survival of the planet itself… It was quite the heavy burden, wasn't it?

From the peak of the tallest and largest fungus in Mushroom Hill, two set people were admiring the marvelous sun birth, wondering if they would ever see it again, after today.

The two brotherly friends have managed to come to this island thanks to their combined Chaos Controls, just like the infamous foxy Mounties and the woodcutter suggested. In that moment, the two of them were just relaxing…

"See… It was a good idea to come here earlier." Said the two-tailed vulpine boy, interrupting the morning silence.

"Yeah… The dawn is cool." Replied his robotizied, fur covered, hedgehog friend.

"Yep… By now, the re-coup of Robotropolis should have began."

They paused for a minute, recollected their thoughts and then, they both sighed in chorus.

"It is time, right?" Asked Sonic, already knowing the answer.

Tails simply nodded in response, still gazing the sunrise.

The two fellow Freedom Fighters rose from their sitting positions and looked around.

"Where do you think they are?" Asked the fox.

Sonic crossed his arms in deep concentration, then he pointed his arm toward the frozen wasteland known as the Ice Cap Zone and spoke.

"There… I sense a disturbance in the force."

Tails stared at him with a disapproving look.

"That was uncalled for…" He muttered.

The hedgehog smirked at him.

"I know, but it was cool… Way past!"

The kit crossed his arms in a genuine childish manner.

"No it wasn't… You're so obnoxious, sometimes!"

"An Oblockuos!!? Where is that mondo awesomo mechanical dinosaur!!?"

Tails's head tilted on one side, clearly concerned about his buddy's mental health… Then he just started to laugh like possessed.

Sonic followed suit.

Thanks to their current tall position, their collective laughter echoed in all of the island.

After a while, the cobalt wonder stopped his hysterical outburst.

"No, seriously… My enhanced robotic whatevers had captivated their presence in that zone…" He corrected his previous cheap statement. Then he added: "… We. Are. Their. Fathers!" The hedgehog said while faking a low, authoritarian and seemingly heavy-breathing voice.

The kit rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Let's get going, alright?"

"Indeed, young padawan."

"STOP IT!!!"

* * *

Ice Cap Zone was a merciless and unforgiving land covered by deadly ice and snow… Giant crystal formations and caves have gifted the eternal freezing zone with un-suspicious beauty.

A peaceful beauty. The beauty of Death.

Ice Cap Zone was a great place to die… It's two actual bystanders knew it.

Void, the black eyed Seedrian, was sitting on a giant icy rock, his expression was in the "all business" mode.

His companion, Shadow the Hedgehog, also known as The Ultimate Life Form, was standing a few meters on the rock's left side. His arms were crossed and his eyes closed… It was Shadow alright. Somewhere, inside the black hedgehog's mind, his brother Mephiles stood uncharacteristically quiet…

For some reason, neither one of them seemed to be fazed by the low temperature… Nor they really cared.

They were all in wait for their imminent showdown.

Suddenly, the familiar green miasma of Chaos Control materialized itself right in front of the plant boy and the crimson eyed blackhog. The un-mistakable silhouettes of their opponents appeared out of it.

The now four of them stared each other in their respective gaze. A whole bunch of emotions was crossing their minds.

Determination. Pride. Uneasiness. Doubts. Sadness. Rage. All hinted in their eyes.

Void slipped down from the rock he was on and stood tall nearby his black ally, who by now, had uncrossed his arms. A mischievous smirk was printed on his muzzle.

Tails and Sonic looked serious as Hell… Although, the fact that the lower half of their bodies was covered by cold snow, didn't help their charismatic stances.

They all greeted each other.

"Void…" Tails said.

"Tails…" Void replied.

"Shadow…" Sonic.

"Sonic…" Shadow.

"Shadow…" Again, Tails.

"Tails…" Again, Shadow.

"Void…" Sonic.

"Sonic…" Void.

"Sonic…" Tails.

"Tails…" Sonic.

"Shadow…"Void.

"Void…" Shadow.

"Ehrrrr… Sonic?" Concluded Sonic.

They paused for a few seconds.

"Where is Blaze?" Asked Tails, interrupting the awkward silence.

"She's not here…" Responded the void one. "… She's gone to battle that red friend of yours, for some reason he was already on this island when we arrived."

The kit grinned at this.

"Once again, thanks for the information, sonny!" He added.

"D'HO!!! I did it again!!" Said the not-supposed-to-be talkative teen while smashing again his humongous hand on his forehead.

Shadow stared at him with a look that was saying: "Wow, you're such a smart leader". Void answered him with an expression that had the phrase "SHUT UP" written on it. Tails and Sonic were observing them with the satisfied "Father knows best" kind of gaze on their facial features.

Void's empty eyes returned to his vulpine counterpart.

"So… Shall we dance?" He asked.

"Of course…" Responded the fox… Then he thought about it for a moment and added:

"… But can we do it elsewhere? It's freezing here!"

Both Sonic and, surprisingly, Shadow nodded in approval at the kit's statement.

Void sighed.

"Fine…" He said in defeat.

Ice Cap Zone, the perfect place for a showdown… But way to cold!

All four combatants raised their respective Chaos Emeralds in the air and yelled in chorus:

"CHAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOSSS… CONTROL!!!"

They were all gone in a giant flash of green light.

* * *

In the upper part of the Hidden Palace, the God Gem itself, the Master Emerald started glowing… Already reacting to the sudden burst of chaos energy that the four of them have already generated… And it was just an appetizer.

* * *

Ancient ruins, rotten walls and floors, everything made of marble… Profound pits filled by oil… And, of course, booby traps. All in all this weird forgotten garden of madness seemed to be one of the most dangerous zones in the floating island…

Knuckles was relaxing himself on a spare grassy spot he managed to find in the middle of all that old marble.

He finally decided to follow Fang's suggestions and stopped worrying about the utter craziness of this messed up land. He realized that certain things cannot be explained… It's the doing of Chaos, after all.

However, he couldn't help but still wonder about Ixis Naugus's prediction and the fact that everything that happened has confirmed part of it's credibility… Not to mention the inexplicable coincidences that linked the events of millenniums earlier to this very day, particularly, the similarities between him, Sonic, Tails and Cosmo with the four original mages… Heck! The fox mage's name was even Prower! That's Tails's surname!

It could have been possible that… Knuckles and the others were all directly descended from those sorcerers? He had no doubts about Cosmo and Void been Earthia's prodigy but he was so darn confused about their role in all of this.

What the Iblis Trigger was supposed to do? Where the three Vessels fit in all of this? Why everything was so complicated?

Too many questions and a lack of answers… He wanted to know, to understand, to get things straight!

Then, he made an important discovery… He was relying too much on Logic! Fang did warn him about this… About being too rational in a world that basically defied common sense.

His mind was troubled and so, he couldn't relax anymore. He stared for a few moments at the purple emerald in his huge hand.

"Why can't I get a freaking straight answer for once?" He asked to the gem, which, naturally, didn't respond.

"Perhaps, you're asking the wrong question?"

Knuckles had just the time to turn and avoid a sudden fireball that would have certainly cooked him for someone else's dinner.

He noticed his attacker.

"Blaze…" He quietly muttered.

"Hi 'leader'…" She replied with a sweet smile.

This was a moment that Knuckles had seen coming for a long time… He knew what an encounter like this could have been able to generate and he was fairly sure that the cat girl knew it as well…

In the back of his mind he was cursing himself for not fleeing away from this blasted place when he could. His brain told him to do so… But his instincts said otherwise. For reasons that went beyond his comprehension (not a surprise) he felt that he couldn't live Angel Island… That his presence was needed there!

Perhaps it was a sensation… Perhaps all of his actions have been maneuvered by a superior invisible force… Maybe he was part of a novel that was questioning it's own integrity… Who knew?

The fact of the matter was that he was there… And his former blazing companion was about to burn him alive.

"What a wonder-fuckin-ful day!" He complained while avoiding another flaming rain of fireballs.

* * *

Tails and his "son" ended up in the Mushroom Hill, a place that, due to it's natural surroundings, gave quite an edge on the plant controller, plant being's side.

"Naugus isn't gonna help Cosmo, you know that?" Tails casually said.

"He's my only hope… Besides, I need him to fulfill her dream of a perfect world without injustices! A world for people like me and you, Tails!" Void replied, almost yelling.

The vulpine hadn't an answer ready for this. Void seemed so determined and convinced of his actions… His personality was so similar to his own and Cosmo's.

Tails sighed and assumed his fighting stance. Void did the same. They both were holding their respective Chaos Emeralds in their right hands.

The Seedrian had his red one that he used to conserve in his own chest.

The two-tailed Kitsune had his azure one that matched his eyes' color.

The fight began.

Immediately, Void utilized his powers to summon humongous branches from the soil. This time, however, Tails was ready for them and thanks to his good reflexes he avoided the multiple threats rather easily. In response, the black eyed boy called even more plants in his aid… Branches and other various lushes of vegetation came out from all the directions, desperately trying to hit the elusive fox. Suddenly, all the "living" vegetations fused themselves into one giant serpent like creature. Seeing this situation, Tails spun his namesakes and darted toward the sky at lightening speed, the plant like snake followed suit, trying to devour him. Once high enough, Tails quickly absorbed the energy he needed from his emerald and then pointed his open left hand palm toward the gunning being under him and cried:

"CHAOS SPEAR!!!"

A familiar bolt of yellow energy came out from the vulpine's hand and shot the snake right in the mouth, killing it instantly. The fox kid didn't even had the time to congratulate himself that an improvise kick hit him right in the back of his head… Void's kick. Tails fell to the ground only to save himself with his appendages just in the nick of time. The Seedrian just grinned and then, he did the same thing Tails did before with his own gem and shot several spears over the fallen vulpine. Tails somersaulted out of harm's way and retaliate… He flew again at exceptional speed toward his floating opponent, who by now, was literally bombarding his adversary with any Chaos Spear he could launch. The flying kit managed to avoid them all and when he was just a few centimeters from the distressed Void… He disappeared.

"What!?" Cried the now panicked plant boy, before receiving himself a kick on the back of his head… Tails's kick.

He was the one to fall this time… He landed on one of those big fungus, which purposely moved in the way to save it's master. Void looked up at his smirking counterpart, clearly irritated.

"You… Induced a quick Chaos Control, uh?" He asked.

"Yep!" Tails, from his higher position retorted proudly.

"Well… The two of us can play that game!" The Seedrian talked back while raising his red emerald, which was glowing like mad, right now.

The propelled namesakes fox didn't want to be caught unprepared and he raised his own too.

And they both yelled:

"CHAOS CONTROL!!!"

A rather odd fight was about to start.

* * *

**Hidden Palace.**

The Master Emerald was still absorbing and, by the looks of it, wasn't about to stop.

* * *

The immense desert known as Sandopolis was the battlefield for the Sonic / Shadow fight.

The absolute nothingness of their surroundings would have give to them, all the space they needed. The two hedgehogs stared at each other intently and ominously…

There they stood.

Father and son.

Original and super powerful clone.

One had a natural birth but then became artificial.

The other was artificially born but his body was biological.

It was finally time, to decide who was The Best.

"Are you ready, father?" Shadow asked.

"Moi? Ready? Ya kiddin' right? I'M WAY PAST READY!!!" He cockily cocked.

"Very well, then… Let's. Get. MOVING!!!"

With that said, they both disappeared from their spot… It wasn't Chaos Control, it was just break-neck speed.

They started to run side by side in the immensity of the desert, exchanging nasty blows in the process… Shadow tried to hit Sonic with several punches and roundhouse kicks, how did he manage to do it while breaking the sound barrier on his bare feet, was a mystery even for me. Sonic continuously avoided and retaliated the blows with his own moves, his black counterpart avoided them as well…

They went on with this show for a while, until the shade one had enough of it and jumped away from the cobalt furry robot. Sonic stopped his running and jumped back as well.

Shadow smirked, then he curled himself into a pinhead ball. Sonic saw that coming and did the same.

The black / red spiky ball was rolling on his spot, accumulating as much momentum as he could.

The blue one did the same.

Then, without any advice, the two darted toward each other at their trademark speed. They encountered. They smashed. They separated.

Nothing changed.

They did it again… And again… And again… And again… And you've got the drill!

As soon as both the hedgehogs noticed the inutility of this confrontation, they uncurled themselves into their previous standing positions.

At this point, Shadow decided to bring this challenge into a whole another level.

He took his green Chaos Emerald from his head quills (they can hold everything) and commenced to drain energy from it.

Sonic understood the situation and took out from his chest compartment, his own blue emerald. He absorbed it's energy.

Shadow shot a Chaos Spear, from his free hand, that narrowly missed Sonic.

The cobalt one opened his palm toward his adversary. The crimson eyed hog braced himself, expecting to see a similar attack… To his utter bewilderment, it wasn' the same.

"SONIC WIND!!!" Yelled the blue pest.

"SONIC WHAT!!?" Shadow yelled back.

A wave of blue energy came out from Sonic's hand. It seemed to be an alternative version of the Chaos Spear.

Shadow managed to vanquish his own stupor and avoid being hit by the strange wave. His puzzled expression was now on his grinning counterpart.

"Didn't you know? We can customize chaos energy. That was just my own personalized attack! Man… You still got a lot ta learn, kiddo!" Sonic humorously scolded.

By now, the blackhog was fuming with rage.

"HOW DARE YOU TALK TO ME LIKE THAT!!!?"

**"_He's right, brother, you still got a lot to learn… Unlike me!"_**

"Oh! So you think you can do better, Mephiles?"

**"_I do not think it… I KNOW IT!!"_**

"Very well, then… Suit yourself, dear sibling."

**"_With pleasure!"_**

Suddenly, Shadow's form started to change.

Sonic didn't look fazed by this. He was expecting it.

Once again, Mephiles have taken the place of Shadow.

His fur was grey and his stripes were dull green, his snaky green eyes were still a sight to fear.

He was smiling, not hinting his amusement.

"Let me guess… You're the maddest of the two… Mephiles, right?" Asked Sonic in a fatherly tone.

Mephiles laughed.

"I've been a very bad boy, lately…" He replied with an innocent tone.

"Well… Maybe a can do something 'bout your attitude!" Sonic again, while assuming a fighting stance.

The Dark just stared at him, then he took another emerald, the white one, from his quills…

"Unlike my brother, I did develop my own moves… And unlike my brother, I do NOT play fair games… My power is already huge with one emerald, imagine what can I do with TWO!!"

He raised both the gems in his grasps, draining their energy… And the area around him was now covered by pure darkness.

Sonic gave a good look at his surroundings, clearly preoccupied.

"I guess I'm about to find out, right?"

Mephiles nodded.

"Mondo problemo…"

"Indeed, father, indeed…"

* * *

**Hidden Palace.**

That last one was a great burst of energy… The God Gem was glowing dangerously.

* * *

**Marble Garden Zone.**

Blaze tried anything… Merciless fireball rains, walls of fire, she even fired up the various oil pits around giving the place the look of an erupting volcano… But everything turned out to be useless.

Knuckles refused to fight!

"WHY THE HOLY FLAMES AREN'T YOU ATTACKING ME!!!?" She cried her frustration out.

Knuckles shouted back.

Because… If I'll fight… We will end up using the Chaosdamned Emeralds, then the Master Emerald will absorb their energy and when the gems' powers will return on their mother's source, the explosive burst that'll follow will be enough to break Naugus's seal and free him… DID I FUCKING FORGET ANYTHING!!!? I DON'T THINK SO!!!"

Blaze looked genuinely taken aback by this… The echidna managed to guess every details of their plan!

"How did you…" She started, her eyes were widen and the mouth, agape.

The surprisingly knowledgeable echidna crossed his arms.

"It's a very loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnng story… Let's just say that if your current 'master' will manage to escape from the dimension he's been locked in, very bad things are gonna happen, not only to us…" He paused a little before ending his sentence. "… But to that plant boy, too."

At this, Blaze face turned pale. Her body started shaking and her lips were trembling. She was still wide eyed.

As if on cue, Knuckles's brain clicked as an horrible, disfiguring doubt crossed his stubborn yet, still rational mind.

"Blaze… Where are them? Shadow and Void, I mean." He was very afraid about the possible answer.

"They're… Already fighting Tails and Sonic… On this island…" She took a deep breath and added: "… With the remaining Chaos Emeralds."

The gargantuan amount of insults and curses that came out from the red warrior's mouth, would have been able to blow a man's head into pieces… He was THAT enraged!

"WE MUST STOP THEM BEFORE… AAAARGH! WHAT THE!!?" Before the echidna could finish his sentence… Something happened to him…

"Knuckles? What's wrong?"

… Or better, someone…

* * *

**Mushroom Hill Zone.**

Tails and Void continued to fight reappearing and disappearing inside their own Chaos Controls and trying to hit each other. A lot of energy has been spread so far by the two of them… Their emeralds had reached their own limits.

* * *

**Sandopolis.**

The black miasma of pure darkness tried to devour the troubled blue hedgehog so many times that he lost the count…

His other son, Mephiles also tried to hit him with his own version of the Chaos Spear… A spike of light of the same kind that killed Fang the Sniper some time ago.

Sonic would avoid such attack thanks to his superior reflexes and then counter with his trademark Sonic Wind attack. The two of them would often use Chaos Control too.

The three gems they had, where starting to exhaust themselves.

* * *

**Inside Knuckles's mind.**

"Grrrr… Who are you!?"

_**Eheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheh… I think you can easily guess it, Vessel of Strength!**_

"NAUGUS!!!"

_**Indeed… Your friends and my underlings have already provided to create a breach into my prison… So, I could take control of your mind… I really hope you don't… MIND!?**_

_**AHR AHR AHR AHR AHR AHR AHR AHR!!!**_

"Damn you! You won't get away with this!"

_**A cheap line…**_

"Well… You won't fucking win!"

_**And I thought that after finding the truth… You would have been wiser than that!**_

"What are you saying?"

_**It was all predestined to happen! Everything you and your friends have gone through, it has been all part of a novel in which I am the Writer!!!**_

"I… I don't believe it!"

_**Did you really think that things can happen without a reason? Did you really think that this world is bound in Chaos and endless possibilities? HA! THIS WORLD BELONGS TO ME!!! I AM THE ONE WHO CONTROLS ANYONE'S FATE!!! I'M THE GOD WHO CONTROLS CHAOS ITSELF!!!**_

"NO! YOU CAN'T BE THAT POWERFUL!! NO ONE CAN!!"

_**Oooooh, but I am, my red friend… I write this novel we call Life as I want it… The Ancient Walkers gave me this power… And the Master Emerald was their further gift to me!**_

"But you got sealed thanks to it's power! Why didn't you avoid your imprisonment if you're so Chaosdamned powerful and omniscient!?"

_**Because… I still wasn't the Writer at the time… I was part of the novel and couldn't fight my own fate…**_

_**But now… I'M THE ONE IN CONTROL! And therefore… I can make my own twists!**_

"What the fuck are you talking about!?"

_**I'm the cause of your arrival here…**_

"SAY WHAT!!?"

_**I'm the one who convinced your sister, Tikal, to send you here through that emerald of yours… I assumed the form of Pachacamac and entered in her dreams…**_

_**It's been quite funny… But not nearly hilarious as watching you getting raped by your own sibling… And I can see that you also LOVE HER!!!**_

_**How pitiful, mortals can be! Eheheheheheheheheheheheheheh!**_

"How… Dare… You! Stay out of freaking mind! My feelings toward Tikal aren't made for your own amusement!"

_**EVERYTHING HAS BEEN MADE FOR MY OWN AMUSEMENT!!!**_

_**EVERYBODY PLAYS THE ROLES I DECIDE FOR THEM!!!**_

_**I AM THE TRUE AUTHOR!!!**_

"No… I refuse to believe it… There has to be another explanation!"

_**Tell me… Do you wish to know the truth about your role in this great novel?**_

"……."

_**You, the Vessel of Strength… The one who finds the Island of Angel and so, The Knowledge but, sadly, he's unable to handle it!**_

_**The robotic hedgehog, Vessel of Speed… The one who's attitude keeps the other vessels united and motivated!**_

_**And finally, the two-tailed Kitsune, Vessel of Intelligence… The one that meet up with the Iblis Trigger and starts the Ancient Prophecy!**_

_**You've all played your roles very good… Very good, indeed!**_

_**By the way… Have you guessed yet, the real purpose of the Iblis Trigger? **_

"Oh… My… Chaos…"

_**And we're up for the grand finale, my dear friend! All the characters are in place… The other two vessels, the Trigger and the other useful supporters…**_

_**The Master Emerald is about to release the energy it had accumulated from the various fights AND the emeralds!**_

_**Only two are left to be use… Are you ready to fulfill your role, Vessel of Strength?**_

"NO!"

_**Too bad.**_

_**AHR AHR AHR AHR AHR AHR!!!**_

* * *

**Marble Garden Zone.**

"Knuckles! What's wrong with you!?" Asked the now utterly worried Blaze.

An expressionless echidna raised his purple Chaos Emerald in the sky… Starting to summon all of it's energy for one single shot.

Blaze noticed it and braced herself with her yellow emerald, basically doing the same thing the echidna was doing.

* * *

**Mushroom Hill Zone.**

"I'M FAIRLY SICK OF THIS!!!" Cried the distressed Void.

"ME TOO!!!" Replied a distressed as well Tails.

After battling for all this time, they were still equally matched. They were wounded and scratched…

They both raised their respective emeralds in the air, summoning every bit of energy left in the gems… For the final attack.

* * *

**Sandopolis.**

"I HAVE HAD IT, FATHER!!!" Cried Mephiles while his form changed back to Shadow's.

"SO HAVE I!!!" Confirmed Shadow, now returned in control of the body.

"Yeah… How about a brake? Let's have some chilidogs and… Oh wait! I'M A ROBOT, I CAN'T EAT THEM!! NOOOOOO!!!" Shouted Sonic.

"SHUT UP, FAKER!!!" Again, Shadow.

Not even Mephiles's display of personalized ominous dark powers couldn't beat the cobalt rodent… They were still even.

Desperate times calls for desperate measures… Therefore the two one-bodied brothers had to play their last card.

Shadow raised both the emeralds he was holding… On cue, Sonic did the same.

They started absorbing their remaining energy.

* * *

**Hidden Palace.**

The Master Emerald was reaching his limit too…

* * *

Knuckles and Blaze had enough power…

Tails and Void had enough power…

Shadow and Sonic had enough power…

The Master Emeralds had too much power…

Knuckles and Blaze opened their mouths and shouted…

Tails and Void opened their mouths and shouted…

Sonic and Shadow opened their mouths and shouted…

The Master Emerald trembled… As if shouting.

* * *

"CHAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSS… BLAAAAAAAAASSSST!!!!"

The infamous name of the most destructive and powerful chaos technique in existence was shouted, screamed and yelled by all the 6 warriors in the game.

Gigantic spheres of red energies could be seen throughout the whole floating island…

After they expired… All the fighters were still there, in their spots as if nothing at all had happened…

Except the little fact that the once rainbow-colored gems they all were holding in their hands… Where now completely grey… Drained… Empty.

And then… It happened.

The God Gem released it's energy.

An immense burst of white light covered the entire surface of the island and it's terrified guests as well.

The raw chaos energy generated from the various fights and the energy of the emeralds themselves has been completely absorbed and then rejected by the Master Emerald, Allowing a certain dimensional breach to get larger enough… For someone… For something… To arrive.

* * *

**Mushroom Hill Zone.**

"What… Was… That!?" An over terrified two-tailed Kitsune demanded.

Void put on a broad smile.

"YES!! WE DID IT!!! MY MASTER SHALL BE FREE!!!"

Tails was speechless… How could that happen?

"No… Impossible!"

Void was smirking more than ever.

"HA! I TRICKED YOU, IDIOT! HE ESCAPED THANKS TO ALL OF US!!!"

Tails went pale.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

Void was about to answer when… He stopped dead. His black eyes were unnaturally opened and his whole body stood still like a statue. He managed, however, to mutter one… Single… Important… Word.

"Master…"

Tails was frozen on his spot… The Seedrian's gaze was directed on something behind him.

The vulpine could feel it's ominous presence… It's judging glare… It's breath…

Most of all… It's asthmatic laugh.

"Eheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheh…"

Tails slowly turned…

He was right there.

He was… Yes. YES! I CAN FINALLY SEE HIM!

It's him! He has finally revealed himself… I… I can describe his form!

A tall, humanoid individual…

Dark purple vest with a black cloak and black boots… It covered his whole body, except the head.

5-fingered right hand… And crablike clawed left hand.

A limb tail.

The face looked very old… He had a very long white beard, so long that it actually touched the ground.

He had a small nose and long pointed bat like ears. A single horn was on his forehead… He was also bald.

His eyes were lifeless and full of glee.

He grinned at the two children in front of him… Revealing his sharp teeth.

There weren't anymore doubts left… It has definitely happened…

Ixis Naugus was finally free.


	9. Chapter 9

**9.**

**"_What… What happened?" A genuine question, indeed._**

_**For some reason that went beyond her understandings, she was now fully awake and she could see her surroundings…**_

_**She noticed the ice and the crystal shards…**_

_**She noticed the coldness and dread emptiness of this ancient charade of a world…**_

_**She noticed her immobility. She's been frozen. She's been encased inside a frosted coffin…**_

_**But why was she there? Where was Tails? Where were all the others? Where was her? No… She didn't die, did she?**_

_**She remembered the missile… She remembered the shining road… And the tender moment she had with her favourite vulpine.**_

_**The tears.**_

_**The kiss.**_

_**The goodbye.**_

_**What occurred after it… Was a total void in her mind.**_

_**Void! That name again! Just… Who was Void? A relative? A son!? **_

_**And then, clear as the day went… Everything came back in her mind. The numbness was gone. She could see the truth…**_

_**She's been tricked… She's been lured into a trap by this ancient entity who lied to her, who said he was going to save her from her demise… Instead, he trapped her inside this pod against her own will.**_

_**She could still feel his laughter and maniacal blabbering going throughout her own skin… Scaring her beyond reason.**_

_**She needed to get out from there. She needed to breath some air again. Most of all, she needed to see Tails, again!**_

_**Because she was alive! She wasn't dead! She could return to him and grew up with him, be happy with him… **_

_**Be her true self… A child in love.**_

_**Suddenly, everything started to shake violently, as if the whole place was about to vanish into nothingness… **_

_**And then, it came the Light.**_

_**And then, she was in the Sanctuary no more.**_

_**Cosmo the Seedrian has returned to her own dimension… Her own world… But she was still stocked inside the icy coffin.**_

_**Although being un-capable to utter a move, her blue eyes could very well take a picture of the new location she ended up in.**_

_**She could see an altar, not so distant from where she used to be, and on the top of it… The biggest, and most beautiful gem she'd ever seen in her entire life… Which wasn't much of a big deal since she'd never seen jewels before this one!**_

_**A great deal of power and raw energy was emanated from the mastodon green rock… More power than anybody could realistically ask about!**_

_**And she felt it all too well… And feared it even better. Now, she finally understood the true intentions of her impolite host…**_

_**If she could… Cosmo would have cried.**_

* * *

If he could… Tails would have cried. Cried like a little kid after seeing the Boogeyman coming out from under his bed. Instead, he stood there, erect, unable to utter a single movement… Almost lifeless… Petrified by fear.

He was right in front of him, not even a meter away from where he was. The sight of a genuinely scared soul pleased the old sorcerer who hadn't stopped, not even for a second, to grin. His unnatural, dead like eyes fixed themselves over the terrified Kitsune's.

While receiving such gaze, Tails had the sincere feeling that his own life was about to be sucked from his body… It was no fun.

Ixis Naugus started moving closer toward the statue like kit, who braced himself, excepting the worst. The sorcerer simply walked past him, completely ignoring the unwilling Vessel of Intelligence… His lifeless glare had found another object to suit his interests… The Iblis Trigger.

Somehow, Tails resumed his previous motion abilities and slowly, but still trembling, turned again to follow Naugus's movements with his gaze.

By now, the crab-handed sorcerer was standing tall, observing his adopted prodigy and best servant right into his black, wide eyes.

Void bowed himself before his master in sign of devotion and respect.

"You've made it, master… I'm so happy for that." He said while performing the reverence.

Naugus seemed satisfied by the respectful gesture and for the first time since his return to this planet… He spoke.

"And so am I, son…" He had a deep yet, asthmatic tone that fitted well with his true age.

"… You can rise, now."

The Seedrian did so. His expression immediately changed from worshipping to enthusiastic.

"Can you heal Cosmo, now? Can you?" He begged like a little child who wanted a new toy.

Tails' ears, from the distance, perched at this. He was definitely interested in the argument.

"But of course, young one…" Ixis started to say.

Void, in his mind, was already dancing like an imp on spring time.

"However…" The sorcerer continued, a serious expression on his twisted face.

Void's mental display of happiness stopped immediately.

"In order to successfully heal your mother from her disfiguring disease… I'm going to need your help, Void."

The Seedrian put on a determined gaze.

"I'll do everything, my lord! What do you need from me?" He mindlessly replied, too much caught in is own eagerness… For noticing his lord's sudden change of his facial features.

Naugus put his normal, right 5-fingered hand on the plant boy's shoulder. Void seemed to be a little confused by this act but he still trusted his adopted father.

He's been the one who took him under his protective wing…

He's been the one who taught him everything… How to control his powers and what to believe or not…

Void would entrust his life to Naugus…

Void was a Chosen by Nature but still a mortal… And mortals make mistakes.

He did.

Slowly, the sorcerer's head turned to his back and glanced fiercely at the still petrified figure of Tails, who by now was shaking madly.

Naugus just smiled at him. A mischievous smile. An evil smile.

And then… Realization dawned inside the vulpine's mind.

The ancient god turned his head again and stared at the now doubtful teen he was holding by his left shoulder… Finally answering his previous question.

"All I need…" He paused. He smirked. He grinned. "… IT'S YOUR OWN LIFE FORCE!!!"

And then…

And so…

The Iblis Trigger fulfilled his role…

The first Seedrian sealed Naugus away… And the last one freed him…

And fed him.

He could not feel anything… The scream of terror of his younger father… The laughter of his traitorous master…

And Naugus's huge clawed paw…

Right in his chest.

Blood. Green blood all over. He could remember that. It wasn't even painful… It was peaceful, instead.

He closed his empty eyes… A single tear came out of them… He fell to the ground, Completely drained of his own energy.

He fell… Like a dead leaf in autumn.

And this… Was NOT a pun.

The murdering hand was engulfed with the boy's vital fluid. It's owner was still laughing his lungs out of pure evilness when Tails finally managed to understand what had just occurred in front of his young blue eyes.

He witnessed the cold assassination of his unwilling son…

He saw his killer spear him with his claw and drain the energy out of his body…

He saw the demon laughing madly at his handy work…

He also saw himself… Standing and doing nothing…

Nothing!

It seemed to be the story of his life. He would try and fight for what he believed… Try and fight for defending the people he would love… And every time, he would miserably failed.

He couldn't save his parents.

He couldn't save Cosmo.

And he couldn't save her son.

Tails fell on his knees. Just like before, if he could… He would have cried.

He couldn't do it…

"NNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"

… But Someone could very well.

Before Tails or even the bloody handed Naugus could even register it, the sorcerer's body was suddenly engulfed by flames. Flames that Tails immediately recognize.

Blaze came out of nowhere. She was visibly traumatized and enraged at the same time. Her whole body was surrounded by flames and her once yellow eyes were now red like the Hell she brought with her… Her fur was red.

She was Blaze no more.

The cursed Bakeneko, the Monster Cat, the beast of flames… was back.

Her fury was a sight to behold… Among other things.

"AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGH!!!!" It cried, the vengeful being, while mercilessly launching it's fireballs to the already burning sorcerer.

The sheer force of such blazing rage was sufficient to send the malicious entity far away from where Void's body used to be.

When the flames settled down, the familiar form of the lilac feline kneeled down to the limp form of her companion… The one who saved her soul from eternal damnation… The one that captured her heart…

The one she loved.

Blaze took one of Void's ugly excuses for an hand in her own… And cried. Tears descended from her now bloodshot eyes like waterfalls… Waterfalls of pure sadness and despair.

She was too absorbed in her own pain to notice Ixis Naugus's still blazing body right behind here, not that she would have cared. Nothing mattered to her anymore.

He stood tall and grinned maniacally as if the flames that were devouring his flesh weren't even there.

"Aaaah, such superb fury… Something that I can admire." He said while extinguishing the fiery "threat" with just a wave of his hand. "… That's why I wanted you to play a major role in my novel… By making you burn your own kingdom!"

At this revelation, Blaze's cat ears straightened themselves. He now had her attention.

His grin went even broader.

"That's right, my dear feline, your 'curse', the Bakeneko, all your sorrows… Have been caused by me! I've been observing you since your birth… You've been gifted with those powers… And I've just… Gave you more of it!" He chuckled. "OH! I'm also responsible for that silver hedgehog's sudden madness! It was fun to watch, indeed… Eheheheheheheheh!!" He added, clearly glad of himself.

All Blaze's sufferance and misfortune, all the pain and the solitude, all the emotions that she's been forced to deny… It was all the doing of one, deranged, individual. The cat girl's eyes were wide open, the tears had stopped and her body felt pain no more.

"Why?" She simply asked, without diverting her gaze from her beloved Seedrian.

"Because I can… Because even a God can be bored… Because everything exists for my own amusement!" His simple answer.

"YOU BASTARD!!!" A new comer's voice roared and Knuckles's out of nowhere, pissed off-able form darted toward the deceiving God with murderous intentions depicted in his amethyst eyes.

With a single move of his human hand, Naugus was able to block the enraged echidna in midair.

"WHAT!!?" Shouted the now bewildered red rodent while desperately trying to reach the sorcerer's face… To no avail.

"I've already told you, Vessel of Strength… I CONTROL CHAOS ITSELF!!!" Yelled the single horned dark mage.

With another move of his hand, the poor echidna's neck started to be strangled… By his own dreadlocked quills!

"Let him go!"

The ever so grinning Naugus turned his head toward the voice's direction. In the same time, Sonic curled himself into a ball and performed his Spin Dash attack, willing to hit his target dead on.

While still holding the strangling Knuckles in the air, Ixis's crablike hand clapped and the speedy hedgehog ball's run tragically ended on the heavy surface of a sudden ice-made wall. The impact was violent and Sonic found himself unable to move after it. The fact that he was not anymore made of flesh and bones, didn't help him greatly.

Naugus laughed again. His evil, loud laughter echoed inside the sensitive foxy ears of a certain two-tailed kit not very distant from where he used to be… This particular fox finally decided that he couldn't take it anymore.

"NAAAAUUUUGUUUUS!!!" Cried Tails right before spinning his namesakes and launching himself toward the object of his current misery at break-neck speed. Tears of rage were loosed from his aqua eyes.

Ixis Naugus looked absolutely un-fazed by the boy's outburst and with a simple blink of his lifeless eyes, Tails's body froze in place… Literally.

Only his head was left free by the un-merciful frostbite.

"Such courage… And such foolishness." The sorcerer taunted with Knuckles still in his grasp.

He got bored of the echidna and decided to shot him over his previously placed anti-hedgehog wall. Once again, it was a violent impact and the red warrior immediately lost his consciousness.

"Damn you… WHY DID YOU DO THAT TO VOID!!!?" Cried the un-frozen head of the desperate Kitsune.

The ancient entity looked down at the former Iblis Trigger's body and at his feline companion, who was still mourning on him, not caring about anything else… Not even about the awful truth she just received from the devil's mouth.

The demon then looked back at Tails again, answering his question.

"You should thank me, Vessel of Intelligence… For I am going to save your precious love from the premature embrace of Death!" He solemnly pronounced.

Tails was dumbfounded by that remark. Naugus continued.

"When she broke the inter-dimensional rift, she sacrificed her own life force… Therefore, in order to survive, she needed a new one… From someone like her!" He smirked. "As you could see, I now possess the required energy and I will be able to heal her… And after that…" His eyes glowed in pure eagerness. "… She will become my bride… AND RULE THIS WORLD AT MY SIDE!! AHR AHR AHR AHR AHR AHR AHR!!!"

To say that Tails was feeling sick and disgusted beyond any form of conceivable reason… Would still be not enough to describe the vulpine's true feelings in that moment. He was desperately trying to free himself from the ice… in vain.

"By the way, fox… She never visited you in your dreams!" He suddenly declared.

Tails was now even more shocked.

"In order to successfully play your role in this novel… You needed the proper motivation… That's why I impersonated your beloved Cosmo and told you everything you needed to know about me and my scheme… And when you tried to stop me, you caused my liberation… EVERYTHING YOU DID WAS PART OF MY PLOT!! YOU NEVER HAD FREE WILL!! ALL OF YOU WERE JUST PUPPETS IN A GOD'S HAND!! IN MY HAND!!!"

That sentence basically destroyed what was left of the frozen Kitsune's spirit, who by now had stopped his attempts to escape from his prison…

Naugus was pleased.

Someone else, however, was not.

"Enough with this!"

The sorcerer's gaze was now fixed on the new comer.

"Aaaah, Shadow the Hedgehog… I was starting to wonder about your sudden missing…" He said casually.

The black and red Ultimate Life Form wasn't impressed by the mage's fake display of concern.

"It's rather difficult to find your way on this island without Chaos Control!" He sorely replied, disposing of the two lifeless emeralds his used to hold.

"What can I do for you?" The other asked.

"You have a debt with me, Naugus… You promised me to revive Maria!" He practically yelled, clearly annoyed by his employee's short memory.

At that, Ixis Naugus put on a diabolical smirk.

"Well, not exactly, my dear ally… I did promise that I was going to REUNITE you with Maria… I've never mentioned a resurrection affair, did I?"

Shadow's crimson eyes widen.

Naugus's deadly brown ones glowed.

And a thunder hit the not so Ultimate Life Form dead on…

Shadow the Hedgehog fell on the ground without a lament.

"Now, you two can finally be together… IN HELL!!!" This world's Iblis, laughed.

* * *

Something went horribly wrong… Amy Rose could feel it. Something happened to someone, somewhere. She couldn't tell what, who or where… She just knew it… And feared it…

And Fear, happened to be the key word in that moment.

The blood.

The dead.

The screams.

She was surrounded by all of this… All these contorted faces and twisted corpses. In the middle of this conflict, her mind has isolated itself from the rest of her body… She stood still inside the battlefield… Covered by blood, both robotic and Mobian's…

She suffered a Trauma, that was painfully clear. She could still, however, see her surroundings…

They were all still fighting around there… Espio had several wounds on his body and his chameleon horn was broken, but he refused to surrender… Uncounted mechanical corpses lied on his feet and even more were about to join the improvised junkyard.

Rotor lost one of his legs and was currently out of commission.

Amy Rose tilted her head to see the sky.

As if on cue, the rain started to fall… Giving to the scene it's proper tragic tribute.

Thunders cracked all over, some of them even hitting many of Eggman's robots… And the unfortunate beings that happened to be nearby them…

All in all, nothing would have changed the fact… That the resistance was losing the battle.

G.U.N. has been able to destroy the perimeters' defenses of Robotropolis but the doctor's army was still to great to overcome…

They were out-numbered and out-matched… They were starting to retrieve.

In the midst of that mess… Sally Acorn had one thing in mind and that was her son… She could not communicate with him via wrist com. from where he was and therefore, she couldn't know if he was fine or not…

One thing was certain, though… Their only hope to win, now, was the power of the Chaos Emeralds. If her son and his friends would fail…

She didn't even want to finish that thought, she trusted her boy's abilities and courage…

And just like she promised earlier… She would have been alive for his return.

"Chaos be with you… Tails." She preyed, before resuming her escape.

* * *

Ixis Naugus was still laughing when he said what he said.

"I'll be at the Master Emerald's shrine if you need me… And so, will Cosmo… Farewell!"

Then, he just disappeared.

In the same time, both Knuckles and Sonic regained their consciousness and Tails's frozen prison melted, freeing him.

The three of them exchanged looks with each other without saying anything… Without wanting or having anything to say… Their sore gazes spoke for themselves… Then the group diverted it's attention over the seemingly carbonized body of what was once the most feared and misunderstood being on Earth… And on the two lonely figures right in front of them.

Tails immediately darted toward the mourning Blaze and dieing Void.

Sonic rushed to the blacker hedgehog's side, instead.

Knuckles decided to stay were he was… Giving them their deserving space. He knew that his innate healing powers would have been useless this time… After all, he couldn't do miracles.

Sonic kneeled in the vicinity of his son's body, clearly desperate about his departure… Their departure! In one single shot, Naugus killed both the dark brothers… Both Mephiles and Shadow, were gone…

Or so he thought.

In his fatherly despair, he didn't even considered the idea of checking the hedgehog's pulse.

"I really wish… I could cry." Muttered to himself, the robotizied, fur covered hedgehog.

He then slowly raised and looked behind him… Over the small group of three persons not so far from where he was.

Somehow, Void was still alive… Not for long, though. The hole he had in his upper body has been a lethal shot. Green blood was still erupting from it.

His viewing sight was starting to abandon him but he could still recognize the two figures that were there for him, desperately trying to alleviate his sufferance.

One was the un-mistakable silhouette of her feline companion, his best friend and confident and… As he finally realized it, the woman he loved with all of his might. The only one who understood him and cared for him… Besides the other one, of course.

On his left side, was the now tearful figure of the two-tailed kit that claimed to be his rightful father… The one who tried to warn him about his former master's real intensions… The one he chose to ignore…

He was feeling sick with himself for letting his real father down… For letting Blaze down… For letting everybody he considered important down!

He felt bad even for Shadow and that Silver guy… In the end, all of them have been nothing more than chosen characters of a novel… As chaotic as it could seem.

He tried to spoke.

"I… I'm… So-sorry… COUGH!!" He spat some blood.

"No… No, don't force yourself…" Tails pleaded through his tears while holding his son's other 3-fingered hand.

"P-please… S-save mother… Save Cosmo!" He managed to say.

"I will…"

"NO! IT WON'T END LIKE THIS!!!"

Everybody fixed their bewildered gazes over the now flaming form of Blaze the Cat, especially Tails and Void.

She transformed again.

Her fur changed from violet to red and her eyes became full white… This time, however, the Bakeneko was not driven by fury… Only by sadness and love.

She quietly smiled at her long time foxy friend and former Freedom Fighters' comrade.

"Tails… It's better for you to stay away from us, now." She suggested, without a threatening tone.

Tails, although bemused, did as he was told and went far away from the two lovers.

She muttered a "thank you" to him. He nodded and then, he just observed the scene along with Sonic and Knuckles.

The blazing princess was caressing the Seedrian's forehead.

"Don't worry…" She said while the flames started to encircle the both of them. "… We will remain together, my love, no matter what!" She sweetly reassured.

Void smiled at her and his black, namesake eyes, were shining with new re-found strength and will to live.

"I entrust my own soul to you, Blaze." He replied with conviction. "I love you, my fiery princess." He concluded.

"I love you too, my charming prince."

And with that said, their respective lips united themselves in a sweet and quiet kiss that would seal their unique love for the ages to come…

By now, the flames had already embraced the two soul mates and once they were dissipated…

Nothing was left of the two of them…

They were simply gone… Escaped from this reality… Left for a different place or dimension in which they could finally be happy…

The Blazing Princess and her Charming Prince.

Alone, together.

Forever and eternally.

* * *

Only three remained.

The original trio, the Vessels of Intelligence, Strength and Speed.

The three main players of this story.

In the minutes that followed the latest tragedy, Tails, Knuckles and Sonic, had little time to none for doing the following things:

1) Mourn about their recent losses;

2) Recover their collective determination and will;

3) Retell their own versions of the whole plot, from their point of view, to each other for no logical reason… Then again, Logic was not key word here, as we already know.

Sonic and Tails told Knuckles everything that happened to them.

They told him about Sir Charles's ransom and Eggman's plan, the truth about Sonic's origins, Bunny Rabbot, Snively and the, hopefully, last assault to Robotropolis… Tails even mentioned the infamous woodcutter and the Mounties chorus…

Sonic nodded.

Knuckles blabbered… probably because of the astounding news he just received… or maybe because of the Mounties? Who knew?

Then, it was Knuckles's turn to tell his tale.

He told them how he's arrived on the island, found the Hidden Palace and the Master Emerald, the truth about Ixis Naugus, the Chaos Emeralds, the four mages (including the story between Merlin Prower and Gaia Earthia), the roles of the Vessels, his recent demonic possession… Everything! Well… He wisely omitted the part when he got raped by his own sister… And his baffling encounter with ghostly Fang… It's easy to imagine why.

Sonic was mouth agape.

Tails was simply shocked… Once the gruesome and rather improbable news managed to sink inside the fox's brain… A very interesting theory started to take shape… And a whole new confident expression crossed the vulpine's face.

The other two noticed it and nodded in approval, confident as well.

They exchanged looks and smirks, they would not go down without a fight, that was for certain!

Their respective minds were focused and settled on the very objects that would have provided them, the motivation they needed.

Tails was focus on Cosmo… Not even in his wildest dreams he could let himself to hope that, one day, he would have been with her again… And hug her again… And kiss her again…

But in order to do so, he would have to deal with one, nasty obstacle… The evil sorcerer that threatened not only his soul mate but the world, as well.

Sonic wanted to win, to survive this battle so he could come back to her… That sweet, hot example of feminine specimen that Bunny Rabbot was… Sure, he would have to tell her the truth about him… The fact that he was not a Robian like her but a full robotizied hedgehog with fur… But the simple fact of thinking about her perfect, slender body, it gave Sonic all the will he needed.

Knuckles's mind wasn't troubled anymore… He has finally realized his true feelings about her sister, Tikal. He loved her, not in the usual brother-sister way, he really loved her… Mentally and physically… And he could not tell the reason of this passion… This forbidden passion… Then again, as we know, emotions and feelings have nothing to do with Reason…

Certain things, just happens.

Despite what people like Naugus want us to think, Control and Order are not everything in Life.

Even in the perfect form and structure of a well written novel… Where everything is already decided by its Author… Its God… There will always be Chaos. The Chaos in the Author's mind when he suffers writer's block or when he has to deal with his own emotions and feelings that his work demands… The sickening fear that a single line could very well ruin an entire chapter, if not the story itself and, finally, the complicated and suffering relationship between the Writer and his characters… Whether being original or not…

In the end, is it the God that controls his world… Or is it the world that controls his God?

I tried to find this answer… I tried to achieve absolute control! To avoid Chaos… And it is because of my undeniable sin… That Naugus stole my role.

I've understood one thing… Anything of this would have ever happened if I just would have accepted the Chaos that lives inside of me… The Chaos that this fascinating yet, uncomprehensible world is made of…

And therefore, the Freedom that we all could have if we ONLY wanted it… And fight for it!

We should all fight against all those Eggmans and those Nauguses that want to enslave us and negate our Freedom… Negate the endless possibilities of Chaos… And all in the name of their precious Order!

The same Freedom that these three characters, along with all the others, have been battling for, in the past, and will continue to battle for, as long as they can!

All I can do for now… Is to narrate their gestures… And hope for the better.

And so… Tails, Knuckles and Sonic darted toward the Hidden Palace and Ixis Naugus… Ready for the final battle.

Go guys! For what it could matter, I'm still with you!

GO GET HIM!!!

TOGETHER, YOU CAN!!!


	10. Chapter 10

**10.**

_**She was frozen… And not just because of the coffin she was in.**_

_**He was back.**_

_**He was staring at her.**_

_**He was grinning.**_

_**And she was terrified… From the insides of her stasis coffin, his already disfigured face appeared even more deformed and demonic than usual…**_

_**A cry of pure despair was locked in her throat, un-capable of coming out due to her imprisonment.**_

_**He was still grinning… His sharp teeth were showing a deviated eagerness… But not as near as his glowing brown eyes…**_

_**She could tell that he had an interest on her… A very dangerous interest… Dangerous for her!**_

_**He licked his lips in delight.**_

_**Cosmo's fear was matched only by her utter disgust. She wasn't the type who could ever harm or hate anything… But she openly despised this ancient, perverted being who just loved to stare at her with those malicious eyes.**_

_**Suddenly, he put his right 5-fingered hand on the coffin's surface… A strange energy flux came out from it, engulfing her own body…**_

_**She felt the new force… She felt her own strength back again… She felt reborn…**_

_**She also felt something different…**_

_**Sadness…**_

_**Guilt…**_

_**Love…**_

_**And regret.**_

_**Emotions that she knew very well, emotions that she experienced… But not her own.**_

_**Those were someone else's feelings… Someone else's memories…**_

_**Someone else's life!**_

**"_No… What have you done, monster? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HIM!!?"_**

_**She understood now… This was Void's life force. **_

_**She could see all of his remembrances. **_

_**He was born from her seed… Tails planted it. **_

_**Void was her and Tails's child.**_

_**He's all life has been a gigantic lie, a hoax orchestrated by this evil being who was keeping her captivated… The same being who just killed him in order to heal her disease.**_

_**She could also see his beloved ones.**_

_**Imaginary tears descended from the Seedrian's azure eyes, when she discovered that the two most important persons in his life, were the same of hers. **_

_**Blaze… Her best friend… Her sister… Was Void's True Love.**_

_**Tails… Her savior… Her guardian and lover… Void's personality was so similar to his.**_

_**Finally, she saw his last moments of life… On this dimension, at least… When he and his blazing princess disappeared through the flames…**_

_**Together.**_

_**Forever.**_

_**She felt that feeling once again… Guilt… And this time, it was her own.**_

_**He died for her. **_

_**Her only son died to let his mother live!**_

_**And she didn't even get to know him… To meet him… To love him.**_

_**However, she still had hopes… Or better, she had certainties.**_

_**Wherever he would have ended up… He would have not be alone. Blaze, her sister, his lover, would be with him. She forced a sad smile inside her mind.**_

**"_I wish the best for the both of you… Be happy." She paused and then, resumed. "Perhaps… One day… We'll be able to live like a real family… I'll be waiting for that moment…" She paused again and then, concluded. "Void, my child and Blaze, my beloved sister... Goodbye and Good luck."_**

* * *

In the upper, roofless part of the Hidden Palace, the God Gem itself, the Master Emerald, was glowing like never before, reacting to what it considered to be its natural enemy…

The one who controls Chaos… The one who wants to destroy it…

From the top spot of its altar, the enormous jewel was trying to resist its enemy's influence… Not to avail.

Ixis Naugus knew that him and the gem were made of the same material, pure concentrated chaos energy, therefore he knew that it could not resist his powers anymore than he could resist its own…

They were linked, they were nemesis and so, equal in everyway.

Or so he thought… The arrogant sorcerer.

"So… You came." He said, pretending to be surprised.

He slowly turned to face his unwilling yet, determined guests.

The three last hopes for this world's own freedom, stood tall in front of the mischievous and manipulative mage…

Tails, the Vessel of Intelligence, who's greatest strengths were his brain and his heart, along with the ability to fly… He stood in the centre of the trio.

Knuckles, the Vessel of Strength, the stubborn power house who's usually driven by blind wrath but capable of rational thoughts and un-suspicious wisdom… He stayed on Tails's left side.

Sonic, the Vessel of Speed, a being who's speed had no equals and the one who's dumb enthusiasm and pride has been able to keep the group united… He was on Tails's right.

All three of them were Chosen by Nature… Results of Natural Selection and therefore, embraced and perfectly accustomed to the undeniable Chaos that Life is…

Ixis Naugus was there enemy, Ixis Naugus was Order… Order meant as the supreme negation of the endless possibilities, of the Freedom that a chaotic world like this is bound with.

Nearby the old sorcerer, a few meters on his right… There she stood.

Beautiful as ever, young as the vulpine remembered… And still frozen.

The Kitsune's aqua eyes glued themselves on the stasis coffin in which Cosmo slept in… Hardly resisting the urge to cry in commotion. He then re-diverted his gaze on the awful image of his greatest enemy yet.

The sole proclaimed Iblis grinned, of course, and started to spoke with his ancient, asthmatic voice.

"You don't think you can stop me, do you? I am a God, you fools! I am the Writer of this story and I have absolute control over everything that there ever lived! I AM…"

"An impostor!" Interrupted Tails, ending the sentence for the old mage.

Naugus stopped dead on his self-inflating speech… In hearing the fox's sudden words, a whole new emotion became visible in his deformed facial features… Bemusement.

"What… Did you… Say?" He asked, clearly irritated by the kid's disrespect.

The "kid" in question, was now smirking like Satan before an easily corruptible soul… Yes, he was THAT confident.

Tails answered the dark mage's question.

"I said… You are NOT a God! You are not The Writer! And you're certainly NOT the controller of everything… You're Gerald Robotnik, aren't you!?"

Naugus's bemusement was now turned into pure shock… Something that he wasn't accustomed with.

Both Knuckles and Sonic diverted their heads on the clever fox, they were quite surprised as well.

Tails's smirk never left his face.

"It was easy to imagine… It's the usual story, really, it's almost a cliché! The mad scientist that falls victim of his own invention, absorbs a lot of energy and become an even more crazed freak with Godlike powers… In this case, YOU!" He solemnly uttered while pointing his furry gloved hand on the not-so omniscient, long bearded creature, who was still in shock. Tails continued. "You can do a few tricks, I'll admit it… But you're not invincible and you're definitely NOT in control of anybody's fate! You're just the average villain who wants to take over the world, with an over complicated scheme and a lot of sheer luck… That's it!"

At this insulting statement, Naugus did what any average villain would do when the hero finds out the truth about his plan… He laughed maniacally in order to mask his obvious awkwardness.

"Yes… You're the Vessel of Intelligence alright…" Chuckled, the individual once known as Gerald Robotnik, patriarch of the Robotnik dynasty and direct ancestor of Ivo Julian, commonly recognized as Doctor Eggman. "… But that changes nothing!! I'm still the chosen messiah of the Ancient Walkers… Everything has been created and disposed for my arrival!"

"Nonsense… You're even more delusional than Eggman used to be!" Taunted the fox.

"Tell me, then… How can you rationally explain everything that happened to you, uh? How can you explain your own life and all the incomprehensible things in the world? The similarities between you and that plant girl with Merlin and Earthia? The flawless realization of MY Ancient Prophecy? The existence of something like the Master Emerald? How can you explain Nature, Life, Chaos itself… If they're not a superior entity's doing?" The sorcerer solemnly questioned.

To his displeasure, the rational part of Tails didn't have an answer for this…

"You can't."

… But someone else had it.

Everybody turned their collective attention to the relaxed and, suddenly, wise form of Knuckles the Echidna.

"Certain things happens without a reason… Things that we cannot explain… That we're not bound to know. Nature, Evolution, Life and Death, Rationality and Logic… Even your precious Order… Are ALL part of this mess… Are ALL part of the Chaos we live in… And ALL we can do about it, is stop worrying and start enjoying what the endless possibilities of Life could offer… Simply put, we just have to Leave and Learn!" The echidna solemnly added.

Tails and Sonic stared at him with baffled yet, admiring gazes.

"Ehm… Don't you think it's a little to easy, that way?" Tails retorted.

Knuckles just smiled at his younger friend.

"Perhaps… But sometimes, the best explanations are the simplest." He said, finally understanding the true meaning of his former phantom guide's words…

Ixis Naugus wasn't pleased by the echidna's blaspheme answer. Not pleased at all.

"That's preposterous! Everything happens for a reason! Everything has an explanation!" He yelled in frustration.

"Oh yeah? Explain this then… When you absorbed the energy from the Master Emerald… HOW IN THE HOLY HIGH HELL DID YOU END UP WITH THAT FUCKED UP ASPECT OF YOURS!!!?" Shouted the angry echidna.

The gruesome looking one-horned, one-clawed handed freak currently known as Naugus… Found out that he couldn't answer that fairly reasonable question. He put a face.

A grinning Tails went into the argument.

"Right! And after your transformation, why did you invented all that stuff about being an ancient God, a devil, Iblis and stuff, in the first place? Did you wanted a whole new background because your true story sucked?" Remarked the vulpine.

Naugus was now even less pleased.

Finally, a particularly eager Sonic entered in the debate.

"Yeah! And what about that stupid name of yours? Did you wanted to sound ominous and cool? What was that again… Pixies Chorus?" Chuckled the hedgehog.

"No, I think it was more like Ictus Bogus!" Corrected an already laughing Tails.

"Fuck no! It was Lupine Jackass!" Added an hysterical Knuckles.

They went on and on…

"Hocus Pocus!"

"Phyllis Birdies!"

"Angus Fungus!"

"ENOUGH WITH THIS!!!!" Cried the distressed sorcerer.

The three Mobians stopped their "innocent" mocking at Bogus… Ehm, Jackass? Whatever! They stopped their mocking at that idiot's expenses. Yes! He's an idiot! I can finally say it!

IDIOT! IDIOT! IDIOT! HA HA HA HA HA!!!

"HOW DARE YOU DEFY ME!!!?" The idiot shouted while his body started to be encircled by rather ridiculous and cheap thunders of rage. "I AM THE MOST POWERFUL BEING IN THE UNIVERSE!!! I HAVE THE POWER!!!"

"Aaaah, shut up, He-Dork!"

Before the freak of un-nature could even register it… Sonic came at him at his trademark break-neck speed and gave him a super fast uppercut that sent the bewildered mage to the sky… Only to get grabbed by an already flying Tails, who started spinning in circle at lightening speed with the screaming jerk in his grasp. Once he got enough momentum, he released the horn-freak, who just flew right into Knuckles's waiting, eager fist!

The impact that followed did send the pathetic magician right into the Master Emerald's shrine… Leaving a cartoon like silhouette in the marble.

Everyone laughed at the old crook's misery… Even the God Gem glowed in amusement.

"Man… You're soooooo pathetic! I can't believe I had so much fear of you, in the first place!" Mocked the now goliardic Kitsune.

Naugus was livid… To say the very least.

Then he calmed himself and slowly raised from the ground… Apparently unharmed.

His three adversaries ceased their laughter and went serious as well.

"Very well… Since you think I am just another cheap villain… I'll tell you about MY Evil Plan to take over the world!!!" He now had their attention. "You see… Even with my divine powers, killing every single undeserving being would have take too long… That's why I collected this peculiar item… AN ITEM THAT I FOUND ALONG WITH COSMO!!!"

Both Tails and Knuckles's expressions went pale… They knew of what "item" the sorcerer was talking about.

Sonic didn't understand the situation but seeing his friends in that condition, panicked him as well.

Naugus grinned like the monster he was while the inevitable, deadly words of knowledge came out from the mouth of the frightened kit.

"… Project: Doomsday… You had it for all this time!" A now shaking Tails muttered.

Sonic and Knuckles just stood there… Petrified.

It was Ixis's turn to laugh.

"I just don't like to waste things… Eheheheheheheheheheheheh! It is still intact, lovingly conserved in the Sanctuary dimension I've been trapped for so long… And once I'll take the necessary energy from the Master Emerald, I'll be able to open an inter-dimensional door big enough for the missile to pass… AND DESTROY ANY LIVING BEING ON EARTH!!! I SHALL CREATE MY PERFECT ORDER FROM THE ASHES OF THIS FILTHY WORLD!!! AHR AHR AHR AHR AHR AHR AHR!!!"

"NOOOOOOO!!!" Cried the two-tailed fox while launching himself over the madmen, the echidna and the blue hedgehog followed suit.

"FOOLS!!!" Shouted Naugus while clapping his infamous crablike hand.

The three heroes found themselves stocked inside solid ice of the same kind that trapped Tails before. Only their heads were left free.

Without wasting anymore time, the crazed demon jumped right on the green God Gem on the top of the shrine and started stealing it's energy… Once again.

"NO! STOP IT!!!"

"YOU STUPID FUCKER!!!"

"This is bad… No. This is MONDO BAD!!!"

They all shouted to him but it was already too late… Above Naugus's head, the portal was already opening…

It grew larger… And larger… And larger…

The dark mages laughed harder… And harder… And harder…

And then… When all hopes seemed to be lost…

I added a twist!

"What is that?" Asked Knuckles to no one in particular.

Sonic flinched.

"IT'S SHADOW!!!"

Indeed, the un-mistakable black and red silhouette of the Ultimate Life Form, came out of nowhere at light speed and, before the utter bewildered Naugus could do or say anything…

The hedgehog entered the portal.

"SHADOOOOOOW!!!" Tails, Knuckles and Sonic cried in chorus… But to no avail.

Shadow the Hedgehog was gone.

* * *

"Well, dear sibling, here goes nothing…"

**"_Gee, Brother… If somebody would have told that I was going to die by saving the whole world from a nuclear missile… I probably would have killed it and devoured its flesh!"_**

"……."

**"_What's wrong, Shadow? No angry reply, this time?"_**

"……."

**"_Shadow?"_**

"… Mephiles… Brother… You do know that in order to ensure the total annihilation of this menace and seal the portal… We will have to sacrifice a life force, do you know that?"

**"_Yes, of course I know and… Believe it or not… I'm ready to do this with you… Together until the end, right brother?"_**

"That's the point… There is only need… Of ONE life force… Not two."

**"…_. W-what are you saying?"_**

"Mephiles?"

**"_Y-yes?"_**

"Will you do me a favor?"

**"_Anything!"_**

"Please… Take care of Amy for me."

**"_NO! WAIT!!!"_**

"I'm coming… Maria."

**"_DON'T DO IT!!!"_**

"Sayonara… Mephiles the Dark."

**"_BROTHEEEEEEEER!!!!"_**

* * *

It came the light…

It came the noise of the explosion…

And then… The portal was closed… Forever.

No one of the witnesses dared to utter a single word. Too much was the shock. Too much was the sadness. Too much was the rage!

Naugus was furious… So furious actually, that he failed to immediately notice the interesting developments that were happening right behind him… Then, he noticed some of the Master Emerald's unlimited energy departing from it.

A sudden and very tangible fear found its way inside the former human's blackened soul… He slowly turned from where he was…

And he saw them. His three enemies. His three former captives, freed from their own prisons...

With the 7 glowing Chaos Emeralds floating around their bodies…

And very angry.

The came-out-of-nowhere, re-colored gems managed to regain their own energies from their mother source without the help of any fancy litanies or complicated machinery… They just did it… Driven by the sheer force of the three heroes' emotions.

They stood still in their spots while the jewels started spinning around them… They went faster and faster and faster…

Until they disappeared, in a mighty flash of golden light.

Naugus had to cover his eyes to prevent damage in his viewing sight. When he reopened them… They grew 10 times larger.

There they were… The Chosen Ones… The creatures who had been gifted with the ability of controlling Chaos… The three Vessels at their full potential…

In their Chaos Forms!

The once cobalt blue color of the robotizied, furry hedgehog known as Sonic… Was now bright gold, his eyes were glowing red and his quills were all pointed toward the sky.

Knuckles's once red fur was now a glowing cerulean, just like his eyes… And over all, he looked even more menacing than the echidna already used to be.

And ultimately… Tails. His orange-yellow foxy fur was now bright like the sun itself and his 3 head bangs seemed to be longer than they were before… Even his tails looked bigger and more fluffy yet, menacing than ever. His eyes were blue but without pupils.

All their angry gazes were undeniably stocked over the sorcerer's terrified form, who, just like any cheap villain would do in this kind of situation, was stubbornly denying the obvious…

"NO! THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE! HOW COULD YOU DO THAT!! I DEMAND TO KNOW!!!" He cried like the big ugly baby he was.

They all smirked.

"It just happened." They answered in unison… As if they were a unique entity.

"W-what are you going to do with me?"

Their smirk grew even larger.

"We'll just… Improvise!" Their collective answer.

A certain well-known dead Sniper would have been proud of them.

Before Naugus could even try to escape… They were already on him, beating the hell out of vicious skin.

Tails used his lethal namesakes as devastating whiplashes, Sonic spin dashed him and Knuckles… Was just mauling him with his huge fists.

When they grew bored of it, they all darted toward the sky… They all flew in the sky… And summoned enough energy for their last attack.

From the position he was, the bloody beaten limp form of the once mighty God, could look in the eye of his own demise…

They were now ready…

"CHAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSSSS…."

… To end this…

"BLAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSST!!!"

… Once and for all!

A humongous beam of red energy was launched from their respective hands, hitting the doomed sorcerer with deadly precision.

In the last moments of his pathetic and obnoxious existence… Ixis Naugus could only think one last sentence…

_**I… Hate… Them. Hate them. Hate them. Hate them. HAAAAATE THEEEEEEM!!!!**_

A cheap villain until the very end.

After the explosion, nothing was left of him… Not even his ludicrous horn.

Invincible my ass!

The three Mobians slowly descended to the soil again, their Chaos Forms faded away and the their natural fur color, along with their average physical details, returned. They exchanged looks of approval.

The now normal two-tailed fox was about to say something important, when…

"TAILS!!!"

… A familiar voice called his name… A sweet, caring, feminine voice he was afraid he would have never heard again.

Tails slowly but convincingly, turned… And there she was… Freed by her former prison…

The beautiful and young form… Of Cosmo the Seedrian.

The vulpine's mouth was agape.

The plant girl's gaze was brighter than ever.

Soft tears started their joyful descent from the two kids' respective eyes.

"Cosmo…" He replied through sobs of happiness.

Both of them darted toward each other and embraced tightly in the middle of their path, without any intentions in letting the other go.

"You don't know how much I missed you…" Tails muttered in the girl's ear while caressing her soft leaf like hair, still crying.

"I love you so much, Tails… Please, don't leave again!" She practically begged him.

"I won't… No matter what… I won't…"

Then, both Cosmo and Tails stared at their eyes… It used to be heir favourite activity, after all… Until now.

Without even blushing, as they usually would do at this moment, their lips gently united themselves in a sweet, childish kiss.

Knuckles and Sonic just pretended to do something else and left the two lovebirds to their precious moment... The two adults were grinning between themselves.

After a few heaven like minutes, the two children's lips departed from each other… They're eyes were full of joy.

Finally, Tails spoke.

"Let's go home."

Cosmo just nodded and cutely smiled.

In the meantime, Sonic and Knuckles managed to recover all the Chaos Emeralds and so, they were ready to go.

Everybody put an hand over each other's shoulder while Tails and the other two Mobians used three of the emeralds in their possession to call up a Chaos Control.

In a flash of green light, they were all gone.

* * *

When they returned to Knothole with the 7 Chaos Emeralds in their grasps, they were greeted like heroes.

Tails hugged his mother, Sally, tightly and lovingly and then he officially presented his girlfriend, Cosmo, to her. She eventually greeted her once she managed to surpass her initial shock…

Sonic met up with Bunny again, he was glad that she survived… He found the courage to tell her about his true nature (or un-nature, if you will), she just sweetly smiled and kissed his synthetic lips… He danced on fluffy clouds for the rest of the day… Not figuratively.

Knuckles found his sister Tikal, and, to the female echidna's utter joy, he forgave her… Then he confessed his feelings toward her and the fact that he would love to see their own child grow up… She was on tears. The two siblings and lovers embraced each other tightly and kissed, not caring about others' opinions. Knuckles eventually left a comment or two about Tikal's war attire… She blushed madly at that.

Espio and Rotor did manage to survive the battle… Although not without a price… The walrus was missing one leg and the chameleon lost his characteristic horn… The returning group greeted them as well.

Amy Rose was alive too, much to Tails's surprise. He really thought that she was a goner after falling in the ocean when they went to South Island. She told him that Shadow saved her…

And that topic forced the kit to tell her the truth about the heroic twin brothers' sacrifice.

She cried, of course, she almost ripped off her own quills in despair… The dark duo, the one-bodied siblings… The two hedgehogs she loved with all her might…

Were simply gone.

She would have to live with this… Eventually.

As Maximillian Acorn informed them, the result of their attack at the outskirts of Robotropolis turned out to be catastrophic, not only they couldn't take back the city but now, Doctor Eggman would have had enough time to reorganize his troops and invade Mobius.

The three heroes smirked at this…

That was definitely NOT going to happen.

* * *

**Epilogue.**

For every beginning… There must be an end.

The only problem now is… How am I going to properly end a saga like this?

This has been a saga that took everything from me… My emotions, my feelings and even some of my personal issues… A story in which I questioned my dubious abilities as a writer… And, hopefully, a story that would inspire someone else's work… Perhaps, I'm just a little delusional, now… But the question remains…

How am I going to finish this?

Should I put a nihilistic ending in which everybody dies?

"NO!"

Ok… How about an Hollywood like happy ending?

"NO!"

A musical ending with an important morale?

"NO… Oh wait. That could work!"

Thanks for the suggestion Myself!

"No problem, Me, anytime…"

Very well then… On with the Epilogue!

* * *

The infamous Dr Eggman was not a happy person… As a matter of fact, he was pissed like the whole infernal pantheon after losing a chess game against Weird Al!

Where the heck did that come from?

His big brown mustaches perched nastily for his inconceivable rage. He couldn't tolerate the idea that a bunch of talking animals had been almost able to invade his precious empire capitol… They would have paid for their defiance, that was for sure.

Too bad that a certain group of three "talking animals" wasn't on the same opinion…

Right now, one of the doctor's floating radio came visiting the madman himself… And it had a message for him!?

"Hello there, doctor…" Started the very familiar, much to Eggman's dismay, registered voice of a certain vulpine wonder he used to know. "… If you're listening this message then you just met up with one of your radio I managed to reprogram… I've only one short thing to say to you, Eggbutt… Redirect all of your floating cameras to the eastern zone of your 'empire' and… Enjoy the show! Eh eh eh…"

The now utterly irate scientist was literally fuming his brain out! In a burst of rage, he crushed the little radio in front of him with his bare hands and then, he decided to follow his long time rival's suggestion and ordered all of his cameras left to fix themselves on the aforementioned zone…

What he saw, scared the Hell out of his large butt.

* * *

**Outskirts of Robotropolis.**

**05:30 am of the new day.**

From their high position, Tails, Knuckles and Sonic had a very good view of the dawning sun behind the not anymore ominous sight of the dark city.

Today was a very special day for the kit. It was his birthday… And he was about to start the party, along with his two best friends and companions.

He knew that he wouldn't have been able to make it so far, without their precious help. He smiled at them and they smiled him back.

Then, they all returned their gazes over the magnificent view in front of them… They noticed a few floating cameras in the distance, registering their every moves…

They all smirked… And braced.

Seemingly out of nowhere, the 7 Chaos Emeralds started to encircle the three Mobians.

It was time for this party to blow!

Hit the Music!!!

* * *

_**Can you feel life movin' through your mind,**_

_**Ooh, looks like it came back for more!**_

_**Yeah yeah yeah!**_

_**Can you feel time slippin' down your spine,**_

_**Ooooooh, You try and try to ignore!**_

_**Yeah!**_

They could already feel the Power while the sacred gems began their spinning ritual…

It was intoxicating, yes… It was dangerous and potentially addicting, yes…

But in their hands, this power represented something different… It was Freedom… It was Life and Will to Survive… It was Chaos!

_**But you can hardly swallow,**_

_**Your fears and pain.**_

_**When you can't help but follow,**_

_**It puts you right back where you came.**_

Locked in their room, the current Mobian Council's members were debating about something important (unlike politicians usually do) and each and every one of them was equally determined and motivated in doing the best for their country.

Sally Acorn, her father Maximillian, Bunny Rabbot and the two new members… War heroes, Espio and Rotor, were all shouting for making their voices heard…

Well... Most of them were shouting… Espio was just sleeping.

He was still him, after all.

_**Live and learn!**_

_**Hanging on the edge of tomorrow,**_

_**Live and learn!**_

_**From the works of yesterday.**_

_**Live and learn!**_

_**If you beg or if you borrow,**_

_**Live and learn!**_

_**You may never find your way.**_

_**Whooooa, yeah!**_

Tikal and her loyal subjects were back in Westopolis… Surprisingly enough, the city was under reconstruction… Due to their efforts in the war, the Mobian Council gave them the permission to build there on state, much to G.U.N.'s displeasure.

Inside her personal tent, Tikal the Echidna, neo-elected queen of this new born kingdom, was caressing her belly, where the soon to be new born prince was slowly growing. She looked more solar and happy than ever… And of course, she would wait for her future husband and king to return and live with her… Until Death would say otherwise… And, perhaps, even beyond.

___**Can you feel life tangle you up inside?**_

_**Yeah, now you're face down on the floor!**_

_**Oh!**_

The Chaos Emeralds were spinning faster… The three Mobian warriors were almost overwhelmed by their energy.

Almost there…

_**But you can't save your sorrow,**_

_**You've paid in trade!**_

_**When you can't help but follow,**_

_**It puts you right back where you came.**_

Amy Rose was mourning about her tragic losses… She didn't know how could she possibly overcome her sorrow…

She was walking inside the Great Forest… When she saw him… Right in front of her… With his un-mistakable snaky eyes.

Mephiles was alive… And he was there for his rose. He survived thanks to his brother's sacrifice and now… He was a unique being… With a unique body.

She cried.

He cried.

They both embraced and kissed.

Together… They will overcome their sorrows… And live their lives as they wanted.

Together!

_**Live and learn!**_

_**Hanging on the edge of tomorrow,**_

_**Live and learn!**_

_**From the works of yesterday.**_

_**Live and learn!**_

_**If you beg or if you borrow,**_

_**Live and learn!**_

_**You may never find your way.**_

**Hey, whoa, whoa,**

**Oh yeeeeeeeeeeeah!**

**Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!**

They were starting to change… The transformation was almost complete.

_**There's a face searching far, so far and wide.**_

_**There's a place where you dream you'd never find.**_

_**Hold on to what if?**_

_**Hold on to what if?**_

Encased in their frozen sleep, stood the two eternal lovers…

Blaze and Void… The Blazing Princess and her Charming Prince…

United in their frosted coffin… In the Sanctuary dimension… Their new kingdom… With no one daring to disturb them. A love that surpasses time itself. A love that defies death.

Inside their common coffin, they were embraced… Their faces were serene… In the tranquility of their own crystal world…

They would always be together…

Forever and eternally.

_**Live and learn!**_

_**Hanging on the edge of tomorrow,**_

_**Live and learn!**_

_**From the works of yesterday.**_

_**Live and learn!**_

_**If you beg or if you borrow,**_

_**Live and learn!**_

_**You may never find your way**_

Cosmo sat in the middle of the flower field she loved so much… The ancient ruins zone was her and Tails's secret place… And in such a beautiful place… She would have waited for him.

Her savior, her protector, her guardian angel…

Her fox.

__

**Live and learn!**

**Hanging on the edge of tomorrow,**

**Live and learn!**

**From the works of yesterday.**

**Live and learn!**

**If you beg or if you borrow,**

**Live and learn!**

**You may never find your way.**

And the transformation was complete.

Tails, Knuckles and Sonic were in their Chaos Forms, ready to end this story once and for all…

And to begin another one… A whole new chapter in their life, new as the sunrise went…

They looked each other into the eyes and spoke…

"Happy Birthday, Tails!"

"Thank you, guys… Now, LET'S KICK SOME BUTT!!!"

And the three chosen heroes of this adventure, darted toward the city… The horizon… And their uncertain yet, intriguing future…

Can you feel Life? Because, they can.

**The End.**


End file.
